Growing Up
by Neila Nuruodo
Summary: Set about two months after BMS. Rachel and Trent find a way to fix their personal problems and begin treating each other like adults. But while their childish ways caused problems, seeing each other as adults brings about new issues. RachelxTrent.
1. Hypothetical Spells

Summary: Set about two months after BMS. Rachel and Trent find a way to fix their personal problems and begin treating each other like adults. But while their childish ways caused problems for them, seeing each other as adults brings about an entirely new set of issues. Rachel x Trent.

Disclaimer: None of the wonderful Hollows characters are mine, a good thing because I could never write them as well as Kim Harrison does. Additionally I don't make any money off of this stuff.

Spoilers: Probably, for Black Magic Sanction and everything before it.

Chapter 1: Hypothetical Spells

* * *

"No way, Trent!" Rachel Morgan glared at me across my desk. "I don't care how important it is to you. Find someone else to do it because I'm not going to work for you."

I stifled a sigh of frustration, though I'm sure my irritation was plain on my face. The woman could drive a saint to murder. "Thirty thousand, then." At least my voice still sounded calm.

She leaned back in the chair, her posture sloppy. "You don't get it, Trent. I'm not broke right now. It doesn't matter how much money you throw at me, I won't do your dirty work." She smiled nastily, and I took a deep breath, uncurling my fists slowly.

My impending tirade was interrupted by a knock on my office door. "Come in," I said, composing myself. I knew my staff wouldn't interrupt me if it wasn't important.

Quen, my head of security, stepped inside and closed the door. "My apologies for interrupting, but we just received a message about tomorrow's shipment. There's been an incident."

I nodded my understanding, keeping my displeasure at this turn of events off my face. "I'll take care of it as soon as I'm finished here."

Quen bowed slightly and turned to go.

"And you wonder why I won't work for you? You're just drug-dealing scum. I don't know how you can sleep at night!"

"Is that so?" I said, letting the anger I felt creep into my voice. "At least I know exactly what I am. I don't pretend to be pure and righteous with stained hands and aura."

I saw her jaw clench; apparently that had hit home. She stood abruptly, fists clenched at her sides. Quen tensed behind her, ready to move in if she should be foolish enough to attack me.

"Everything I've done has been to save my friends, the people I care about. You wouldn't understand, though. You don't care about anyone but yourself." She turned, pushing past Quen to the door, and left, slamming it behind her.

I took another deep breath to calm myself. I could feel the heat in my face and knew it was red from anger. I closed my eyes, focusing on a mental image of my waterfall to regain my center. I heard Quen settle in the chair opposite my desk.

"Sa'han," he began softly, "I don't mean to be unkind, but you and Miss Morgan are fighting like children. I might expect such childish behavior from her, but you should know better. It's beneath your station.

I sighed and opened my eyes. "I know that, Quen, I really do. I don't understand how she affects me like that. We can't seem to interact like normal, rational adults. Goodness knows I don't have this problem with anyone else."

Quen frowned. "Doesn't that seem odd to you? There must be a reason why only she has that effect on you."

_Her personality,_ I thought, but I took in the serious, almost concerned cast of Quen's features and considered it more seriously. I twirled a pen thoughtfully on my desk. "Well, it certainly would explain some things."

I thought about it for a moment longer, then picked up my phone and dialed the gate guard. "Has Rachel Morgan left yet?" I asked curtly, not waiting for his greeting.

"No, sir," the man replied.

_Good,_ I thought. "Do not allow her to leave. If she throws a fit, tell her to talk to me about it. Understood?"

I waited for his acknowledgment, then hung up the phone. I pulled the paperwork for tomorrow's brimstone shipment out of my desk, checked the number, and called the foreman in charge of it.

I listened patiently to his excuses for about a minute before interrupting him. "Fascinating, I'm sure, but I want solutions, not excuses." I paused for a second to make sure he'd gotten the idea. "Now this is what I want you to do. How much of the product is ready?"

"Uh, all but ten pounds, sir."

"Take what you've got and send it on an earlier shipment, just get it out of town. No need to change the rest of the schedule when the problem is local. The rest can be sent out with the next shipment."

"Oh! Very good, sir. That's just what I'll do," he babbled.

"Now you see, that wasn't so hard. Perhaps next time instead of panicking you should try to solve the problem yourself, without needing to trouble me."

My office door flew open and Rachel stormed in, madder than when she'd left. Quen, who had jumped up at the sudden commotion, moved subtly toward my desk to stand almost between us. I held up a finger to hold her off as the foreman thanked me profusely and finally hung up. I replaced the phone in its cradle and looked up at the fuming redhead.

"Care to explain why you told your lackey not to let me leave?" Her green eyes flashed with anger.

"Certainly," I said, gesturing for her to sit down. She ignored me, remaining standing. "I have a job for you."

"That's all?" she said, her incredulity overcoming her anger for a second. "I already said no. Maybe you forgot!"

I frowned at her. "This is a different job, Miss Morgan. I suggest you pay close attention as it affects you as well as me."

She narrowed her eyes at me, but I could tell I had her attention now. I collected my thoughts, reorganizing them to try and explain my suspicion.

"It seems to me that the effect you have on me, that is, short-circuiting my rational mind, is something completely unique to you. In short, I deal with many annoying people on a daily basis and manage not to lose my temper. It's only when dealing with you that I have this issue.

"There is, to my mind, something...unnatural about the way we simply cannot get along. I'd like you to investigate the possibility of some kind of spell or other effect that could be causing this."

During my speech her expression changed from surprise and skepticism to one of consideration and some concern. She sat down, frowning slightly.

"I'll pay you ten thousand for the job, and if you manage to reverse the spell I'll double it."

I sat back and watched her think. I found it amusing to see every thought she had written on her face. Anger at me was warring in her with curiosity and growing suspicion. And what do you know, her anger seemed to be losing. She was probably considering the possibility that the anger she felt was not even her own, but caused by some unknown spell. That certainly worked in my favor, better than I could ever have planned.

"Okay, I'll do it," she said, sounding almost subdued after how she had been yelling earlier.

I smiled, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from me. Maybe this mess actually could be fixed. "Thank you. Please call me with your findings."

She left with a nod, shutting the door quietly behind her this time. Quen looked at me for a long moment, an odd gleam in his eyes, before leaving as well.

I began organizing the evening's paperwork on my desktop, then paused and dialed the gate guard again, instructing him to allow Rachel Morgan to enter and exit freely.

I worked diligently on my paperwork for about 2 hours, the only break being a brief business call from one of my labs. Ah, the glamorous life of the rich and famous. It really wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

After most of the staff went home for the night I found my attention wandering. I pulled up the internet on a whim and began checking online spell databases for a spell that could cause strife between two specific people, or make everything another person said come off as irritating. 45 minutes of searching found me nothing that would have the effect I was looking for, and I gave up, discouraged.

Frustrated at my lack of success, I hit the intercom. "Quen?"

He answered almost immediately. "Yes, Sa'han?"

"Would you mind asking Ceri about that spell we discussed earlier?"

"Certainly. But I believe she is asleep right now."

"Don't wake her, it can wait." She was due to give birth within two weeks, and none of us in the household would do anything to discomfit her.

"Curious, Sa'han?" Quen's voice carried a hint of amusement.

It was rare that I could hide anything from that man. "Quite," I replied, rolling my eyes to myself. Peeved, I glared at the remaining paperwork for several minutes before finally giving up, sitting down to a light dinner, and going to bed early.

The next morning I found Quen and Ceri eating breakfast when I entered the dining area. I was a bit surprised as we usually ate separately, but I figured it probably had something to do with my inquiry from yesterday evening.

"Good morning," I said politely, seating myself opposite from the couple. They were eating sausages and blueberry pancakes, and I helped myself to some from the serving plate in the center of the table. They both nodded at my greeting. I poured melted butter and maple syrup over my pancakes and began eating in silence.

After a few minutes Ceri delicately wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Quen says you wanted to know if I knew anything about a spell."

I nodded, my mouth full of pancake, and chewed quickly so I could speak. "I was hoping you might know of a spell that would make Rachel Morgan and myself fight all the time."

She nodded. "I'm afraid I don't know of any spell like that. I don't know much about earth magic, but I'm not familiar with any ley line spell or demon curse that would do that. Now," she put a hand up, smiling almost sadly, "I certainly don't know everything about spells. There may well be a spell like that which I don't know about. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."

I shook my head. "Not at all. Everything we can do to narrow down the possibilities helps." I smiled warmly at her. "Your input is much appreciated."

She smiled back at me. She looked like an angel when she smiled, and it almost hurt me to know that her soul was hopelessly stained with smut from her time as a demon's familiar. Unfortunately for me, despite her beauty, her relative genetic purity and her royal status, I couldn't bear to get close to her for simple fear of that stain. It shamed me somewhat that Quen could accept it and trust her and I couldn't, but the shame wasn't strong enough to overcome the fear. After all, she could slough that imbalance off on another if she so chose.

And who in their right mind wouldn't seize the chance to lessen such a terrible stain?

* * *

I know, Ceri wouldn't, but Trent can't understand that, being his untrusting, opportunistic self. Please review, I thrive on encouragement and constructive criticism!


	2. Two Heads are Better than One

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 2: Two Heads are Better than One

* * *

It was three days later that Rachel finally called me. I had spent the intervening time trying to concentrate on my work, jumping every time the phone rang, and then being disappointed when it wasn't Rachel with new developments on the case.

It was Sunday afternoon, and I was in my garden relaxing with a cup of tea. I heard footsteps approaching and looked back to see Quen. He handed me a cordless phone.

"It's Miss Morgan."

"Thank you," I murmured, taking the phone and putting it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Trent, it's me," she said. She sounded tired, oddly enough. "I did a bunch of research, and basically I found nothing. I looked online, in all my books, even checked Big Al's library on the sly."

I felt my blood chill at that name. It was her pet name for a demon that had once tried to kill us both. She now had a working relationship with the filthy creature. Worse, she visited it in the Ever-After once a week, though she said that was part of the bargain she made to save me from being sold as a familiar. Now that was something I didn't want to think about.

Rachel had continued talking, and I belatedly focused on her. "...any documented spell anywhere that would make us bicker."

I felt my shoulders slump. "You're sure?" I asked quietly.

"Oh, cheer up, Trent. There's still hope. Apparently every couple of hundred years someone will figure out a new spell. Sometimes even more often than that. And most of these spells get kept secret, I mean it depends on the kind of spell, but if it's really horrible black magic, or just useful, they'll keep it to themselves."

That would be one possible way to explain this, but it just seemed too incredible. "Rachel, don't you think I'd know if people were still inventing new spells? I'd be all over that. I'd have a laboratory of magical geniuses working around the clock. Believe me, I've got very good information and contacts. No," I said, certain, "I'd know if that were the case. I'm sorry."

"You're wrong, Trent," she said, frustration evident in her tone. "Almost nobody knows about it. As in I got the information from Al. Apparently he knows a guy whose familiar made a spell before getting taken. It's rare, but it happens. After all, the spells we use all the time had to come from somewhere, right? And you've heard of Merlin, from the stories about King Arthur? According to Al he was some kind of magical genius, invented seven spells in his lifetime."

I interrupted her. "Fine, I'll take your word for it. But what good does that do us?"

"Got it covered," she said smugly. "We just have to take a different approach. Whatever this spell is, it most likely needs some kind of focus to make it work, especially over such a long period of time. We need to look for something, probably something perfectly mundane, in your office or nearby. It has to be something that was present every time we've argued."

"No, that's not possible. Quen sweeps the entire place for magic that doesn't belong there every week. It can't possibly be anything on my property." A thought occurred to me. "It definitely isn't on my estate. Do you remember meeting me at Eden Park? We were definitely arguing like usual then."

"Right," she exclaimed, "You're right, it must be something one of us had then, and every other time. What do you always wear, Trent? A watch, a certain pair of shoes, I don't know, your lucky underwear?"

I rolled my eyes at her crudeness. "I usually wear the same watch. I'll have it checked. But what about you?"

"I've been thinking about that too," she replied a bit defensively. "The only jewelry I always wear is my ring. I don't wear a watch...hey, how about a belt? Is there a belt you wear all the time?"

"No, there isn't," I replied. "You should check your ring to see if it's been spelled. If you bring it here I'll have it done for you." I didn't know what caliber of spell detector she would have, but I doubted it could be anywhere near as good as mine.

"Well, of course it's been spelled!" she said hotly.

"Really," I said, "you have it spelled? With what?" I didn't let it show, but it bothered me that I'd snitched it from her once without knowing it was spelled.

She mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "hides freckles" and I smirked. How conceited of her. I bet she'd hate for people to know she had freckles and hid them. I held out for a moment but finally gave in to temptation.

"Freckles, Rachel? Don't you think that's a bit...vain?"

"I don't have freckles anymore!" she said, and paused, her bluster evaporating. "Though I'd rather I had them back in trade for this smut." She sounded depressed now.

"Then why'd you do it?" I asked, curious.

"I didn't do a demon curse to get rid of my freckles, dammit! It was a side-effect of a spell I used to save my boyfriend's life."

I couldn't think of a good response to that, so instead I said, "If you don't have freckles any more, why do you still wear that ring?"

She sighed. "It was a gift from my dad. He got a lifetime spell renewal on it, so I just have to get it redone every year."

"But why would you get it done? You just said you don't have any freckles to hide."

"Well, I might get some new ones, you know."

I chuckled at that. "Perhaps, but we've gotten a bit off-topic. Is there anything else you wear all the time, or at least for meeting with me?"

"Nothing I can think of. Why don't you go ahead and check your watch?"

I rolled my eyes at her impatience but stood up. Much as I'd expected, Quen was nearby, far enough to not eavesdrop on my conversation but within sight and hailing distance. I waved at him, and he started jogging toward me. "Hold on," I said to Rachel, then set the phone down on the bench.

Quen stopped before me as I straightened up. "What is it, Sa'han?"

"I wanted to ask, when you sweep the house for unfriendly magic, do you usually get my watch at some point?" I tugged up the sleeve of my dress shirt for emphasis, showing off the watch in question.

I saw Quen wince and knew the answer before he spoke. "I am very sorry, Sa'han, it had not occurred to me to check it."

I clasped his shoulder. "Neither did I, it was Rachel's suggestion, as a matter of fact. But never mind that, let's check it out."

We walked together in silence until we reached Quen's office. I waited as he unlocked a file drawer and removed two small objects, one a wooden disc and the other a silver charm. I took my watch off and set it on the desk.

I watched as Quen slowly waved first one, then the other spell detector over the watch. Both of them indicated the same thing: my watch had no spells on it.

I sighed. I was glad that my favorite watch hadn't been spelled, but I had so been hoping to find a spell that would make Rachel and me fight. I thanked Quen and returned to my garden, seating myself and leaning back before picking up the phone.

"Still there, Rachel?"

"Yeah, I'm here. How's your watch?"

"Completely spell-free, I'm afraid."

"You know," she said wistfully, "I was really hoping there was an easy explanation for why we always bicker."

I thought to myself that she just didn't want to take responsibility for her childish behavior, but tactfully didn't say so. "I don't suppose you have any more ideas?"

She hesitated for several seconds, then said, "Well, actually...I mean, if I did a spell check on my ring, I would expect it to show there's a spell. But it wouldn't tell me if there's more than one. So, maybe it's the perfect hiding place. A spell on top of another spell, disguising it." Her voice was growing firmer, more sure. "I'm going to talk to the witch who spells my ring every year. She'd be able to get access to it easily enough."

"Don't forget, I stole your ring without you even knowing. Someone else might have done the same, spelled it and brought it back before you noticed it was missing."

"Maybe," she said. Was it my imagination or did she sound a bit grouchy? "But that wouldn't work as well. When it's re-spelled they remove the remnants of the old spell, and that would also remove any other spell on it. The most effective way to do it is both at once."

"Very well, then," I replied, "but you aren't going to talk to this woman. I'll go. Whether she's doing it for her own reasons or was put up to it by someone else, you'll need more clout than you have to get the truth out of her."

She started to protest, but I cut her off. "Be logical. If you confront her but can't get her to open up, she may disappear before I can lean on her. Tell me who she is, and I'll go and talk to her about it."

She seemed ready to protest for a few seconds, but eventually she saw reason and gave up. "It's Sheffield's Charms. And I don't want you to go and kill the poor woman, okay?"

"I had no intention," I said, miffed. "I need her alive so she can fix the damage she's done. Plus there's no guarantee she's the culprit."

"Whatever, is that all?" she asked, trying to sound bored. I smiled to myself. She was mad that I was cutting in on her run. There was no help for it, though; I was the man for this job.

"That's all for now. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Right, bye then."

I ended the call and dropped the phone on the bench, tipping my head back and stretching my arms. Feeling better, I stood up, grabbed the portable phone, and headed off to find Quen and tell him we'd be visiting Sheffield's Charms tomorrow.

* * *

A little more dialogue-heavy this time. Hope it wasn't too much. Anyway, your input would be much appreciated.


	3. White Charms and Revelations

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 3: White Charms and Revelations

* * *

The next afternoon found me outside Sheffield's Charms, a small charm shop in a middle-class business zone. Quen was with me today in case I needed him in his capacity as a bodyguard or enforcer. He opened my door for me and I got out of my limo, giving the establishment a once-over.

The narrow shop was situated between a Chinese restaurant and a nail salon. It had an eye-catching sign done in bight colors and, I suspected, a spell or charm to catch the eye. The door was glass and had a sting of bells hanging from the handle. They chimed softly as I opened the door.

Inside I found a sitting area with comfortable-looking if somewhat dingy chairs. There was a short counter across the room by a door that obviously led to the back area of the shop. There was no one at the counter, but after a few seconds a young witch came through the door and stepped up behind the counter.

He gave me a professional smile which was replaced by a look of shock and awe when he recognized me.

"M-Mister Kalamack, it's an honor to have you here!" he said, regaining his poise. "If you'll wait just a moment I'll be back with my moth-Mrs. Sheffield. She'll be happy to help you in any way she can."

I nodded politely and he disappeared into the back. Apparently this was a family business.

Within the minute an older witch appeared. She looked to be in her fifties, though with witches it could be hard to tell. She walked directly over to me and proffered her hand. I shook it and smiled back at her.

"A pleasure to meet you in peson, Councillor. Henrietta Sheffield, at your service." She put her thumbs through her beltloops "So, what brings you to my humble shop?"

"Well, you see, Mrs. Sheffield, I have an acquaintance-a business associate-who has a complexion charm purchased from you, a very nice one with lifetime renewal. Do you do a lot of those?"

"I certainly do, sir. Every charm we make here is available with a premium package, which provides free replacement of the charm itself in case it is lost, damaged, or stolen, as well as lifetime spell reinstatement and yearly cleaning. Did you have a particular spell in mind?"

"Not exactly," I said, watching her closely. "This associate of mine, Morgan-Rachel Morgan, that is,"-I saw her react to the name. It might have been nothing more than the fact that she had been shunned recently, but I didn't believe for a second that was all. There had been something guilty in that little flinch.

I continued. "She expressed some concern that there was a problem with the enchantment on her ring."

Even before I had finished the witch began shaking her head emphatically. "That's simply not possible," she said confidently. "I do the highest quality work and I always test my charms before handing them over to my customers. If your associate had a problem with her charm she needed only bring it back and I'd fix it at no cost to her."

I was sure I heard a note of bravado in the woman's voice. I smiled again, more sinister this time. "Apparently there was nothing wrong with the complexion charm. The problem was that something else got on he charm as well, a spell that wasn't supposed to be there."

She was looking pale now. "I'm sorry, Councillor, I don't know anything about that. Perhaps someone got hold of it and spelled it-"

I cut her off with an angry gesture, no longer smiling. "Don't play games with me. Why did you do it?" Quen moved closer, his body language threatening. She looked frightened, desperate, but she stayed silent.

I half-turned toward Quen. "I'm tired of playing games. Get the information out of her."

Sheffield stepped backward, putting her hands up in front of her. "Wait. It wasn't my fault! Piscary made me do it!"

I held up a hand as though to stop Quen. "Keep talking."

"It was about 8 years ago. Piscary himself came to me. He gave me a spell and ingredients, told me to put that spell on Morgan's ring every year. I didn't want to, but he threatened my family." She gave me a pleading look. "There was nothing I could do. I wouldn't risk the lives of my children just for some stranger."

I smiled at her, friendly again. "Of course not. I understand completely." She relaxed visibly. "And all you have to do to set things right is fix the ring, redo the complexion spell without the extra spell. Piscary is dead; he can't hurt your family. And if Cormel comes to you about Morgan, you come to me. Understand?"

She nodded vigorously. "Of course. Just have Morgan bing the charm by and I'll set things to right." Then she hesitated. "Morgan was shunned, though, wasn't she?"

I shrugged, as if it were no big deal. "She was. It was a mistake though, and it's been temporarily revoked. It'll be permanently removed at the next council meeting."

She looked relieved at that. "That's good." She paused, then continued, "I knew her father. He was a good man. I couldn't believe that his daughter would be a black witch."

I nodded in agreement, even though I wanted to roll my eyes. If she knew the truth about Morgan she'd be terrified, no doubt.

"You know," she said, "her father bought her that charm as a birthday present."

"I didn't know that," I said, even though I did. I had an ulterior motive for sounding interested. "Say, do you think I could see that spell? The one Piscary gave you? I have some amateur interest in magic."

"Not in earth magic, surely?" she said, eyeing me curiously. Almost no-one knew elves were still around, and as such few people knew I was one. This led to some speculation by the general population as to whether I was human or Inderlander.

"An academic interest only," I said with a cool smile. Sheffield frowned, obviously trying to tell if I was lying, then finally shrugged.

"Sure, why not. I've got no use for it." She disappeared into the back, then returned with a yellow folder and a small paper sack. "Here's the spell and the special ingredients. You know, I never even found out what the spell did."

I accepted the objects, opening the folder and glancing at the neatly handwritten spell instructions. "It causes strife between two people," I said absently. I glanced into the paper bag. It held two smaller cloth drawstring bags.

I opened the first one, frowning when I saw a lock of red hair. I didn't need to see it in the light to know whose it was. I closed the bag up and opened the other, a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew almost for certain what was in the other bag.

Sure enough, it contained a clump of fine, short blond hair. My own hair. I racked my brains trying to think how Piscary might have gotten it. Ever since my father's death I had been very careful with my spare DNA in order to prevent someone from using it either to find out that I was an elf or as a focus for a spell.

I realized that Sheffield was speaking. "I wonder why Piscary would do that. Seems to me he just killed people he didn't like." There was a note of bitterness in her voice, a relief to me. It made me feel I could trust her to do the spell right from now on.

"Perhaps he would have liked to," I said, "but he couldn't kill me even though he wanted to. That's why he had to resort to this."

She looked at me sharply, and I could see her making the connections, noticing my hair color. I didn't give her time to speak.

"Thank you for your assistance in this matter. I trust Morgan's ring is safe in your hands from now on?"

"Of course, Councillor. I'm sorry I didn't come clean with you...I was just afraid."

"Don't be," I said warmly. "I expect Morgan will come by soon. Take care." I shook her hand again, mostly to reassure her, and left.

Quen opened the door of my limo for me and I got in, setting the bag down and opening the folder again. I studied the spell as Quen drove, skimming past the ingredients and the directions to the additional information.

It was clearly a white spell, no horrible animal ingredients, but it would be dangerous to assume it was benign just because it wasn't a black spell. The notes didn't say much, just an annotation that DNA from the two subjects was best, but bits or shavings from a cherished item should work as well. After that was a cryptic line: "Effective in holding a relationship at a golden past moment."

That was strange. It sounded like this spell was made to liven up or improve romances that had gone cold. I frowned. Perhaps it had been designed that way, but I suspected it could just as easily be used to trap Morgan and myself at a point in our relationship when we didn't get along at all.

I thought back to the Pandora charm I had made for Rachel. It had contained a memory of a time at my father's camp, a period of time when we had been in conflict. Well, we'd had a moment of truce, but most of the time we had been bickering like children. Of course, we were children then. Both of our fathers were still alive; we hadn't had to grow up like we did after their deaths.

I sat up straighter. And we wouldn't have been nearly so careful with our hair, our DNA. We were old enough our parents didn't have to babysit us all the time, but we wouldn't have painful experiences to remind us to be careful with our hair and nail clippings.

Could Piscary have been planning to thwart his rivals' children that early? It seemed like a long shot, but vampires were known for their patience and for laying plans that could take years, even decades to come to fruition.

Of course, there was no way to know for sure, now that Piscary had died a second time, but I was convinced. The evidence and the timing seemed to match up. And there had been a spell after all. That was a relief on a personal level. I didn't like thinking that I had been so unprofessional and petty on my own.

When we got home, Quen dropped me off at the front entrance before parking the limo. I went straight to my office and put the bag and folder in my desk, locking the drawer. It would be safe enough in there until I figured out what to do with them. Then I picked up my phone and called Morgan.

She answered after several rings. "Hello, Vampiric Chams, how may I help you?"

I smiled at her effort to sound pofessional. "Hello, Miss Morgan."

"Trent," she said breathlessly. She didn't seem surprised. "How did it go?"

I almost chuckled at the girlish excitement in her voice. She'd definitely been put-out that she hadn't gotten to come along.

"Quite well. There is a spell, as you'd thought. Apparently it's Piscary's doing. He set it up as a way to keep us from working together."

"Well? What was the spell?"

"Some earth spell or other," I said casually, as though I hadn't studied it.

"A new one?" she pressed.

I curbed my irritation. "I'm not an expert at earth magic, so I don't know. But it looks like it could be."

"Oh," she said. "Well, that's good, then." She paused. "It's getting a bit late, so I'll go to the charm shop tomorrow."

"Do that," I said. "And come see me afterward. I want to make sure it works. I'll pay you then, too."

"Okay, see you then."

I replaced the phone on its cradle and reluctantly started on my paperwork.

* * *

And the truth comes out! Explains a lot of our favorite heroine's behavior, does it not? Anyway, leave a review, it inspires my muse!


	4. Growth Pangs, Growth Spurts

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 4: Growth Pangs, Growth Spurts

* * *

It was a little after 4:30 when I got the call from my gate guard informing me that Rachel Morgan had arrived. A few minutes later Frederick, my new publicity advisor, showed her into my back office. I invited her to sit, looking her over with some trepidation.

Surprisingly, she had dressed conservatively, wearing a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt. She looked good, I thought, then kicked myself for the thought. But more importantly, the sight of her didn't make me want to pull out her hair. I still felt frustration at some of our past interactions, but that was tempered by the knowledge that her behavior was not entirely her fault.

She was staring at me oddly, too. No doubt she was having similar thoughts. After a brief silence she blurted out, "It's funny. Looking at you doesn't drive me batty now."

I felt my lips twitch. Classic Rachel, blunt as always. "I know exactly what you mean."

She smiled. "It worked, then. This is kinda weird, ya know? I mean, sitting here in your office and we aren't even fighting."

I smiled a little in return. "It's a relief," I said, "a very welcome change."

She shrugged. "You're still a drug lord and murderer," she said, but the words lacked their usual venom. Still, it stung.

"And you work demonic curses," I said levelly. "We both have our reasons."

She winced a little at my harsh words, but she didn't deny it. After a moment she said, "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just hard for me, you break the law to suit yourself and you have a good life. I try my hardest but I have awful luck. And, well, it bothers me."

I nodded sympathetically. I suppose you could consider being born a demon to be awful luck. She seemed to be done talking, so I opened the top drawer of my desk and pulled out the envelope I had put there earlier. I handed it to her across the desk and she leaned forward to take it. "Your payment," I said.

"Thanks," she said uncertainly. "Um, I feel bad taking it, since I didn't really do anything."

I shook my head. "I hired you to find out what the issue was, and you did just that. You earned it." Always the woman of action, she didn't feel like she had earned her pay unless she'd kicked someone's ass.

"Well, okay then. Since you insist." She flashed me a bright, almost embarrassed, grin.

"Oh, before I forget," I said, opening the drawer again and rummaging around until I found a cloth bag, "I believe this belongs to you."

She took the bag as I handed it to her, a quizzical expression on her face, and opened it to look inside. When she saw the contents her eyes widened in shock. She looked back up at me. "How'd you get this?"

"From Sheffield," I said. "She gave me the spell's special ingredients."

Her eyes widened in understanding and she gave me an appraising look, almost respect. I could see that she thought better of me for being straight with her. It wasn't a look I was accustomed to seeing on her face.

"Well, I shouldn't take up any more of your time," she said, standing up.

I wanted to chuckle, seeing her so polite and almost friendly. It was almost absurd, and really quite fetching to boot. I stood as well and offered her my hand. She shook it, grip firm, and I noticed that she flushed slightly at the touch. Rachel, I thought, do you find me attractive now? I hid my smirk at the thought.

She turned to go with a small smile.

"Would you like to share a celebratory dinner with me?"

It took me a second to realize that I had said that. She turned and regarded me with surprise. I felt my ears redden. Damn it, what had possessed me to say that?

She hesitated several seconds, then said, "Thanks, but tonight isn't a good time."

I nodded understandingly. Why did that make me feel so rejected? "Of course. Feel fee to call me if there's a time that will work better."

She murmured that she would and slipped out. I sighed and sat down, resting my forehead on my palm. I knew she wouldn't call me; I had just offered her that as an out. But somehow I still felt disappointed.

I worked hard to put the incident out of my mind. And so it was I had nearly forgotten it when Rachel called me the next afternoon, shortly after my midday nap.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Trent, it's me."

My mouth dropped open in surprise when I recognized her voice, but I kept my tone casual. "Rachel. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"Well," she hesitated and stopped. She sounded embarrassed. "Does your offer of dinner still stand?"

My eyebrows nearly disappeared into my hairline at that. "Of course," I said smoothly. "Say, here at 7:00 tonight, perhaps?"

"That would be great. I'll, uh, I'll see you then."

"I'll look forward to it," I replied politely and ended the call. I pushed a pile of reports over to the side of my desk and stood up. This was as good an excuse as any to take a break from my work.

I wandered down to the kitchen and found my cook, Maggie, puttering about, baking bread from the look of things.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kalamack," she greeted me warmly. "What brings you into my domain? You got a special request for dinner tonight?"

"Yes, actually," I said with a smile. I really liked Maggie, she was a wonderful woman. "I'm having Rachel Morgan over for dinner tonight, and I'd like for you to make something special."

"Of course," she said, a twinkle in her eye. "She's the nice young witch who stopped your wedding, right?"

I nodded an affirmative, grimacing slightly. A part of me appreciated not having to marry Ellasbeth, but at the same time Rachel had made one hell of a scene, arresting me in front of the congregated wedding party and dragging me away in handcuffs.

Maggie smiled, ignoring my expression. "Good. I'll be glad to see her again. How are things between the two of you?"

"Well, we're getting along much better now that the spell that made us fight has been nullified."

She looked at me in surprise. "A spell, Mr. Kalamack? That's bad news. Thank goodness it's been taken care of."

"Indeed," I agreed quietly. "At any rate, we are currently working to improve our relationship. That's why I invited her over tonight."

"I see," she said thoughtfully. "I'd say...chicken."

"I'm sorry?" I asked, frowning in consternation.

"I'll make you chicken for dinner. My stuffed chicken breast, along with rice and glazed veggies. Does that sound good?"

"Ah...sure," I said, a bit taken aback. "That'll be great."

"And a white wine to go with it," she said decisively.

I smiled. "In this I must bow to your expertise." She chuckled and turned back to her cooking, and I proceeded to the wine cellar. I looked through the variety of bottles, finally finding a Pinot Grigio with no added sulfites. Morgan had a severe sensitivity to sulfur that gave her migraines if she consumed too much of them. Hopefully she could enjoy this wine without suffering for it later.

I brought it back to the kitchen and put it into the wine chiller, putting in the temperature setting for white wine. And that was that; dinner was lined up.

I turned to Maggie. "I forgot to mention, I was planning on eating a little after seven."

She waved a hand at me, shooing me out of her kitchen. "No problem at all. Get along now and stop fussing."

I left, shaking my head in rueful amusement. The kitchen was the only part of the house I didn't really own.

I whiled away the next two hours in my office. As 7 pm approached, I began putting away all the paperwork concerning illegal activities into my filing cabinet to be locked up. Ever since Morgan had broken into my office the third time, I had made a point to use extra security measures. After all, she was nosy and persistent, but she wasn't the best thief out there. If she could do it, others probably could, too.

I had finished sanitizing my office and had moved on to organizing and tidying it when my phone rang. I answered it and recognized the voice of the gate guard.

"Mr. Kalamack, I'm calling to inform you that Rachel Morgan just entered the grounds."

I smiled to myself. So she wasn't going to chicken out. "Thank you. Have a good evening."

I hung up and left my office, heading for the entrance to the garage. I stopped at a bathroom along the way, peeking quickly in the mirror to make sure my hair was lying flat and my clothes looked presentable. Reassured, I moved on and found Quen at the garage entrance.

He gave me a quick smile and passed through the doorway, the door falling shut behind him. I waited about a minute and a half before he opened it again, holding the door so Rachel could pass through.

I was surprised again to see that she had dressed modestly, wearing black dress slacks and a long-sleeved blouse with a subdued floral pattern in green, blue and purple. She gave me a hesitant smile when our eyes met, and I stepped forward. I took her hand in mine, clasping it warmly.

"Rachel. How are you tonight?"

Again I saw her flush faintly. "I'm doing good, Trent. Thanks." After a hesitation so brief it was almost unnoticeable she added, "And how are you doing?"

"I'm doing well," I replied. Quen slipped past us back in the direction of the security office, and Rachel offered him a warm smile as he passed. I buried a pang of jealousy at her gesture; she was genuinely fond of the older elf, and I would have liked to win that kind of affection from her, or anyone, really.

I turned and gestured for her to accompany me, leading her toward the dining room. I pulled her chair out for her before seating myself. Ordinarily I would also help a woman push in her chair after sitting, but I felt that Rachel might not appreciate the gesture.

Maggie appeared, carrying a platter of chicken, and placed it in the center of the table. She disappeared back into the kitchen and reemerged with two pots, which she also placed on the table. She gave Rachel a smile and myself a wink before returning to the kitchen.

The table was already set, so I picked up the serving spatula and placed a piece of chicken on first Rachel's plate, then my own. I did the same with the carrots and broccoli and the wild rice. Maggie, ever thoughtful, had opened the wine, replacing the cork with a nozzle for pouring.

"Wine?" I asked Rachel, hiding a smile at the look of longing she gave the bottle in my hand.

She shook her head. "Thanks, but I'd better not," she said wistfully.

"Are you sure?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "This one has no added sulfites. Of course, there will be some that occur naturally, but it should be far less."

"How much less?" she asked, looking intrigued.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't exactly been able to test it, after all," I added, a note of apology in my tone.

She laughed. "Fine, I'll be your test subject, then."

I smiled at her cheekiness as I poured us each a glass and set the bottle near the center of the table where we both could reach it. I settled back in my seat and picked up my fork. I wondered perversely for a moment if Rachel would want to say grace, but she picked up her fork as well.

I inhaled the delicious aromas before digging into my food. Maggie had really outdone herself. We ate in silence for several minutes.

"This is really good," Rachel commented.

I glanced at her, amused. "This comes to you as a surprise? I thought you'd eaten Maggie's cooking before."

"Like, once," she protested. Her eyes met mine and she drew her brows together. "Is all her cooking this good?"

"Yes," I said, secretly pleased that she was envious of how well I ate.

She shook her head, as though trying to get rid of an unwanted thought or idea. I heaped my plate with seconds and continued to eat. She noticed and glanced down at her own plate, still half-full. She smirked, then hid it behind her wineglass.

"Is something funny?" I asked with a hint of pique. It seemed pretty obvious that her amusement was at my expense.

She shook her head, still grinning. "I was just wondering how poor elven families with kids manage to afford all the food they must need."

I stared at her for a moment, incredulous, then I shook my head and muttered, "You think about the weirdest things."

She was still watching me, apparently hoping for an explanation, and I sighed softly. "It is pretty rare for an elven couple to have more than one surviving child. Some simply don't get the chance to raise children at all." I saw sympathy cross her features, which lessened my ire at her importune questions. Apparently she was not completely insensitive to my race's plight.

"Also, being as we're so few we tend to form a tightly-knit community. The only elves that would be poor would be those that the community is not aware of."

She nodded. "You mean like charity?"

I pursed my lips. "Not really. More like an insider club, to be honest. As an elf, I'm more likely to hire other elves to work in my business. I'm more likely to put them in positions of power and authority in my company. Every other species does it as well; just look at vampires and the I.S."

She nodded again. "I see. I guess that makes sense."

We lapsed back into silence as we ate. I finished eating and refilled both of our wineglasses. "So," I asked, "how is the runner business going?"

She looked down at her nearly-empty plate. "Not so good, I'm afraid. Ivy and Jenks are doing fine, but most of the people who come to me want black spells, or think I'm some kind of assassin." Her features showed clearly her distaste. "It really bothers me to rely so heavily on them. I know they don't mind, but still..."

I nodded my understanding. She was a fiercely independent woman, as I'd discovered on my own. She always paid her dues. Being in debt, even to her friends, bothered her.

She looked up at me, and there was something close to fear in her eyes. "I don't even want to think about where I'd be without them."

"Dead, most likely," I said, teasing her, and she gave a burst of slightly hysterical laughter.

"Yeah, probably," she said, smiling. I thought to myself that if it weren't for her friends I would have gotten her on my payroll successfully by now, but I refrained from saying as much.

She finished her food and sat back with a deep sigh. "That was excellent. Thanks," she said with a shy smile.

I returned the smile as Maggie bustled in, taking our plates away. "Don't mention it," she said with a warm smile directed at Rachel. "You should come over more often so I can cook for you."

She went back to the kitchen and returned with two plates of apple pie and a bowl of homemade ice cream.

"Oh, Maggie," I said, "wow. You shouldn't have."

She grinned, pleased to have surprised me. "Just trying to keep the meat on your bones, Mr. Kalamack. You'd be nothing but a skeleton if it weren't for me."

I grinned back at her before spooning ice cream over my pie and pushing the bowl to Rachel. Her pie was excellent, as always, and still warm from the oven. I thought to myself that Maggie must be fond of Rachel to go to the extra effort.

I savored the look on Rachel's face when she took her first bite. She chewed slowly and swallowed before looking at me, amazement in her green eyes.

"This is like nothing I've ever tasted."

I smiled broadly and leaned forward, opening my mouth to tell her the secret.

But before I could speak, Maggie's voice floated in from the kitchen. "Don't you go giving away all my secrets now!"

I laughed. I really did know all Maggie's secrets, too; there was nothing I'd liked better as a child than hanging out in the kitchen and trying to snitch food or just watching her cook. It beat boring social classes, for sure.

I leaned farther across the table toward Rachel. "Maple," I whispered. "Brown sugar and maple."

She giggled at my conspiratorial attitude, eyes sparkling with mirth. She covered her mouth with one hand, trying to silence herself. I gestured at her pie and she took a bite, still smiling impishly.

I turned to my own plate, eating slowly to draw out the enjoyment. I pushed my plate away when I finished, then drained the last of my wine. I debated for a moment before pouring the last bit from the bottle into my glass. I was feeling good, with just a slight buzz from the wine making me feel relaxed, comfortable.

Rachel finished her own pie, glanced at me, and took the ice cream bowl, scraping up the last bits of melted ice cream and eating them with evident enjoyment. When she finished she began toying with her wineglass, avoiding my eyes.

After a moment I broke the silence. "You know," I said slowly, pensively, "I didn't expect you would call me back."

She met my eyes with a small smile. "I didn't plan on it, to be honest. But I wanted to make some kind of," she waved her hand, "like, a gesture of goodwill. When you gave me my hair back it really drove it home for me how much our relationship has changed. I was still thinking of you as a man who would never give up an advantage he had over anyone." She was meeting my eyes, looking at me with something akin to respect, and it made me feel good.

"I will admit I was tempted," I said softly. "But I'm trying to make things right between us, and that would have caused quite a setback." Oh gods, how I had been tempted to take just a hair or two out. It really had taken all my willpower to leave it alone, to give it all back to her. But I knew she would have been furious if she'd found out, and Quen would not have approved. And the fact was, after Ceri had fallen in love with Quen, I had been trying to follow his advice, his example, in the hope that someone might fall in love with me.

"I bet," she said, giving me a speculative look. She finished off her wine. "Anyway, thank you for the meal, it was very good."

I shook my head. "It was nothing. Thank you for coming. I have enjoyed your company."

I stood up, and she followed suit. "You know," she said wryly, "I'll never hear the end of this from my roommates."

I chuckled at the thought. I imagined her pixy, especially, would enjoy giving her a hard time for dining with me. I went to offer her my arm, but stopped.

"Well," I said, covering up the abortive gesture, "I hope it was worth it."

She smiled up at me. "I think so, yes."

I was close enough that, with my sharp senses, I could smell the wine on her breath. "I can have someone drive you home, if you'd like," I said.

She shook her head. "Thanks, but I'd rather just wait around here for an hour. I mean, if that's all right."

"Of course," I said. "Come with me."

I led her to my back patio. It was one of my favorite places to unwind after a long or stressful day. Being late spring, the air was cool but not too cold. The day's light had almost completely faded away, with only a faint brightness on the horizon to the west. The breeze rustled the branches of the trees that overlooked the patio.

She sat down in a wicker loveseat and stretched out, taking up the whole thing. I repressed a snort at her unladylike behavior, reminding myself she'd been raised differently than me, and sat in a chair beside the loveseat that faced half-toward it. I put my hands behind my head and leaned back, enjoying the silence.

"You don't have to hang out with me," she said softly. "I'm sure you have other things you could be doing."

"Like paperwork?" I said drolly. "Frankly, I'd rather spend my time with you."

She smiled at that. The moon was a little past full, and its light was bright enough that I could see her face clearly.

After another period of silence I asked her softly, "Do you really think you're a better person than me?"

She turned to face me, surprise showing on her face at my plain words. She kept silent for a time, thinking.

"I'd like to think so," she said slowly. "Recently, though, I've really been questioning, well, everything. I just don't know anymore, and it troubles me." She shook her head. "I feel like I should be. I mean, everything I've done has been either to protect the ones I love or to keep my promises. It really bothers me that you do what you want and nobody cares but I get screwed at every turn. I'm just trying to get by." She put her face in her hands.

I sat forward and put a hand on her knee. "I'm sorry," I said softly. "It wasn't my intention to upset you. It's just...well, it really does bother me when you say that I'm a low-life murderer or treat me like I'm scum."

She looked up at me. "Really?" She looked thoughtful. "I wouldn't have guessed that you cared what I thought."

I nodded slightly. "Believe it or not. Quen says it's good for me to have someone so contemptuous of me, keeps my ego in check." I shook my head. "I'm not sure I agree, but I'll admit that you have been a part of what makes me want to become better."

Another silence stretched out between us, but this one felt a little more comfortable. Rachel tipped her head back, gazing at the stars. After a moment I turned my own gaze heavenward as well.

"The stars here are so much brighter than they are in the city. The air is clearer...it's beautiful."

I smiled and pointed upward. "Do you see the constellation here, just to the left of this tree? Three stars in a line, with two more up here and two more down there, kind of like an hourglass?"

She looked where I was pointing and nodded.

"And just below the three in the middle are three more, in a line pointing down. That's Orion the Hunter. It was originally an elven legend, but it was adopted by humans." I stared up at it. "It's visible in the winter, as well as some of spring and fall. It's my favorite constellation."

She nodded. "Are there a lot of elven legends that humans took over?"

"Not a lot," I said. "A handful. As well as some stories which are related or derived from our own."

After a minute she pointed off to the east. "The Big Dipper," she said softly. "I know it because the far end of the dipper points straight to the North Star." She smiled, a little self-consciously. "It's a good one to know if you're worried about getting lost at night."

"Very true," I said, stifling a yawn.

She noticed and sat forward. "It's getting close to your bedtime," she said with a teasing smile. "I won't keep you up any later."

I stood up and stretched. "You're sure that you're good to drive?" I asked as she stood as well.

She nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks for everything."

I smiled. "We should do this more often."

That got a laugh from her. "I think my roommates would institutionalize me if we did."

I chuckled at the mental image that gave me and turned, leading her through the house to the entrance of the garage. "Drive carefully," I said as she headed toward a car I didn't recognize.

She glanced back at me with a small smile. "I will."

I watched her get into the car, start it up, and drive away. I waved as she disappeared, then went back into the house and went to bed.

* * *

Somewhat fluffy but I hope it was at least believable. It's her mom's car, for those of you wondering.


	5. Introspection, Consternation, Reparation

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 5: Introspection, Consternation, Reparation

It had been three days since I had had dinner with Rachel. I had not seen or heard from her since then, but she had been on my mind quite a bit. A part of me wanted to call her, to keep in contact with her, but I didn't know what I could say to her so I didn't try.

Tonight, though, I had finished my work early. I needed some time to myself, to sort through things in my head. After eating dinner I found Quen in the security office.

"Good evening, Quen," I said quietly from the doorway.

He looked up at me. "Good evening, Sa'han. Is everything all right?"

"Yes," I said, smiling reassuringly. "I'm just going for a drive, that's all."

He stood up. "Of course. Where were you planning to go?"

I shook my head. "I'm just going for a drive," I repeated. "I need some time to think, alone."

Quen frowned at me. "I'm not sure it's wise for you to go alone, Sa'han."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'll be okay. I'm not planning on stopping anywhere. I just need to get away for a while."

Quen regarded me, still frowning, and tapped his toe a few times. "Please bring your cell phone, at least."

I nodded my assent. "Sure. Try not to worry about me," I said with a wry smile.

He gave me the barest of smiles in return. "I'll try."

I headed for the garage, grabbing a leather jacket and the keys to my Jaguar on the way. Then I cursed, backtracked to my office, and grabbed my cell off the desk. I went back toward the garage entrance, slipping in and flicking the lights on.

I hit the unlock button on my key fob and slid into the driver's seat, enjoying the feel of the leather upholstery. I turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. I backed out and drove out of the garage, going at a sedate pace so as not to give Quen a fit of nerves. However, as soon as I pulled out of sight of the gate I put the car through its paces, reveling in the speed and the feeling of freedom.

I slowed down to a more legal speed once I got to the edges of the city. I drove aimlessly, going from one main street to another, then eventually taking smaller roads through quiet neighborhoods. I wasn't paying any real attention to where I was going, lost in thought about my life and my accomplishments.

I felt good about what I had done in my life. I had found dozens of lost and confused elven children through my hospitals and orphanages, connecting them with elven families unable to have children of their own. I had maintained, even expanded the political and financial power base my father had handed down to me. Most miraculous of all, through my near-disastrous trip to the Ever-After I had obtained the means to my people's salvation, the elven sample that meant the elves could be made whole.

But in my personal life, what had I accomplished? My engagement to Ellasbeth had been my parent's doing. She was a good genetic match for me, as well as having skills that would be helpful in my labs. But the engagement had ended and I had not even tried to get her back. Admittedly, I would not have been happy being married to her, but I felt guilty sometimes for simply letting her fall to the wayside.

My personal life, my own wants and desires, had been sacrificed to the preservation of my people, and I didn't regret that choice. But I did wish sometimes that it could have been otherwise, that my life could have been truly my own. Of course, now that elven children were being born healthy and whole, I could probably get away with marrying any elven woman I chose, since we could be sure our children would be strong. But I was still limited by my people's needs.

My ruminations were disturbed when I saw a street sign I recognized. I turned down it impulsively, searching my mind for where I knew the street name from. After a moment, it came to me. Rachel Morgan's childhood home was located on this street.

I slowed down, scrutinizing the house numbers to see which one had been hers. I had never seen it before, but I had thoroughly studied my dossier on Morgan at various points in time trying to gain insight into her. According to my sources, her mother still owned the house, but she wouldn't be here; she was visiting Takata in California on an extended vacation.

I saw the house number I was looking for and turned into the driveway. The house was dark and the driveway empty, as I had expected. I got out, zipping my jacket up against the night's chill. I didn't actually feel uncomfortable, but it was a habit I'd cultivated for spending time around humans and witches. I looked around, a little surprised to notice that the neighborhood had degraded as I drove down the street. Some of the houses sported boarded-up windows, and most of the yards had bits of trash littering the grass.

I paused for a moment, knowing Quen would worry about me leaving the car in a neighborhood like this, then shrugged. I was hardly helpless; plus, no one was visible out and about at this hour. The yards were free of trees and fences. I would be able to see easily if anyone was approaching.

I sat down on the first step of the porch and wondered for the thousandth time exactly what made Rachel tick. I really didn't understand her; I had gleaned insight here and there as to what made her do specific things, but I couldn't reliably predict her actions.

I leaned back against the stairs and looked into the night sky. I found Orion, near the horizon and partially obscured by a nearby house. Then I looked for the Big Dipper, finding it low in the sky. I followed the line of the dipper end to the North Star, but I couldn't see any other part of the Little Dipper but that and the two bottom-most stars of the dipper.

I remembered what Rachel had said about the stars at my house appearing so much brighter. She was right; here the stars appeared much dimmer and more distant, somehow dingier. I smiled humorlessly to myself. In a way it was a metaphor for our respective childhoods, our lives. My life had been full of promise, riches, and power, compared to her life of having to scrape to make ends meet with no real hope of improvement.

I wondered what it was like for her to grow up with no one to rely on but a brother who left home as soon as he finished school and a mother broken by her husband's death. It hadn't been easy for her, that was evident in the strong, hard woman she had become. In a way it was a wonder she was as caring as she was. Even her cruel world hadn't beaten that out of her.

I stood up abruptly. I would go visit her tomorrow, just to see her. She was in a hard point in her life, what with being shunned and everything that came with it. She could use all the friends she could get, and there was no reason I couldn't be one of them.

I drove home directly and replaced the car keys on my way through the house. I stopped by the security office to reassure Quen that I had survived.

I walked in, hands in my jacket pockets, and stopped in front of the desk. He glanced up, giving me a speculative look.

"I'm back," I said unnecessarily.

His lips quirked. "I see. You look better. More...level."

I shrugged. "I feel better. A good drive was exactly what I needed."

"No tickets?" Quen asked with an amused glint in his eye.

I shook my head, daring him with a look to say something.

He smiled at that. "Come by any earth-shattering revelations?"

I sat down in a chair to the side of his desk. "I realized that I've accomplished a lot for the sake of our people, but very little for myself, personally." I paused, then met his eyes hesitantly. "I think I'd like to correct that deficiency."

I half-expected to see his disapproval at that, but he just nodded. "I agree. You have made great strides for preserving our species. You have certainly earned the right to a little personal happiness, just so long as you don't take things too far."

I nodded. "Thank you," I said, meaning it. I valued Quen's input; he had known my father well and had been there for my whole life. He also had a lot of life experience and wisdom, and while I didn't always want to listen to him, when I was being logical and reasonable I knew his advice was sound.

I stood and left the office with a jaunty wave, getting myself a tumbler of good whiskey which I enjoyed out on the patio under the twinkling stars. After finishing that I went to bed and slept dreamlessly.

I spent the next morning working in my office. I intended to visit Rachel, but mindful of her sleep schedule I planned to wait until after my afternoon rest. I awoke just a little after two in the afternoon and dressed in slacks and a lightweight sweater.

I sweet-talked Quen into letting me go out on my own again, and on impulse I stopped by a florist and bought a simple floral arrangement with three long-stemmed yellow roses and baby's-breath in a tasteful vase. I arranged it in the cup holder and drove carefully until I reached the church that Rachel lived in with her vampire and pixy roommates-slash-business partners.

I picked up the vase, walked up the steps to the double doors and knocked briskly. I heard quiet steps approach the door, then it opened to reveal Ivy Tamwood, the living vampire that had been Rachel's partner in the I.S. and who had quit with her to form a runner business. She was tall, slender, and darkly beautiful, with eyes that hinted at some Asian heritage.

"Hello," I said politely. "Is Miss Morgan here?"

"No, she isn't," she said coldly. "What are you doing here?"

My jaw clenched at her rudeness, and I forced it to relax. "I just came by to visit her."

The vampire's brown eyes shifted to the vase in my hand and she raised her eyebrows. "And to bring her flowers?" she said, a note of incredulity in her voice.

"Yellow roses are a symbol of friendship," I said. I knew I sounded defensive, but I couldn't help it. Vampires were dangerous creatures, and Tamwood also held considerable clout in the Inderlander community. She made me a bit nervous.

She stared at me, her lips pursed. I was just about to give up in frustration when she opened the door wider and stepped aside. "Come on in."

I moved past her, watching her warily in my peripheral vision as I passed her. I made my way though the sanctuary to the kitchen and set the flowers down in the center of the dining table. I turned to leave again, but Tamwood was standing in the doorway. From the thoughtful expression on her face she wasn't intentionally blocking my escape, though I couldn't tell for sure.

"Rachel has been acting differently. When it comes to you, I mean."

I glanced at her in surprise. "That's nice to know."

She met my gaze steadily. "She told me about the spell in her ring, and getting it redone."

I nodded, unsure of why she was telling me. Suddenly she stepped forward, almost in my face. I jumped backwards reflexively, and she closed the distance again. This time I held my ground, pretending a bravado I didn't feel. Showing fear to a vampire was a good way to get bitten.

"If you spelled her to like you," she hissed, "I will kill you. Slowly."

My eyes widened in surprise, and I gave her a look of indignation. "I did no such thing. Ask the witch who worked the charm if you don't believe me."

She backed off but still watched me balefully. "Then why are you here?"

"Because now that the spell has been removed, I've found I would like to be on friendly terms with Rachel."

"Rachel?" she said, her motions suddenly smooth, almost sensual. "So you're on a first-name basis with her. And you say you want friendship. Are you sure you don't want more?"

I felt my face flush with anger, and I almost called her jealous, biting the words off at the last second. Pissing off a vampire was always a bad idea. Before I could formulate a more politic comeback, Rachel's other roommate, a pixy named Jenks, flew into the room.

He took one look at me and said derisively, "What's the elf doing here?" Then he saw the flowers and began laughing hysterically. "Trent, you cookie, did you bring Rachel flowers? Aww, that's so sweet!" he said, voice syrupy with fake sweetness.

I ungrit my teeth. "Yellow roses are for friendship," I said stiffly, but he kept on laughing. Suddenly he darted toward me, landing on the table and putting his hands on his hips, looking at me with a smirk on his tiny features.

"You know, Rachel's been saying your name in her sleep these last few nights."

I felt my ears turn red. "I somehow doubt she'd appreciate you spreading that around," I said disapprovingly.

He gave me a funny look. "Since when do you give a fairy's fart what she'd like?"

"Since we got over our childish rivalry and began treating each other as adults," I said.

This sent Jenks into another fit of laughter. "Adults, huh?" he said when he recovered. "And what kind of adult activities do the two of you do now?"

I ignored him, turning to Ivy. "Thanks for letting me in. Tell Rachel I came by, will you?" Not waiting for an answer, I turned on my heel and stalked out of the church, letting myself out. I started my car and peeled out a little faster than strictly necessary, driving with angry motions. After a few minutes I calmed down, driving more normally. I pulled into the garage and turned the car off, but I didn't get out immediately. Instead I sighed and rested my forehead on the steering wheel. It just figured. I tried to do something nice and considerate, and I got punished for it.

I heaved another sigh and got out of the car. On my way to my office I ran into Quen, who stopped and turned to follow me. I flopped into my chair and he seated himself, facing me in the guest chair.

"I take it things didn't go well?" he asked quietly.

I gave him an odd look. "When did you become so perceptive?"

He laughed softly at that. "Falling in love gives one a new perspective on many things."

I considered that, then answered his earlier question. "I guess you could say it didn't go well. Rachel wasn't at home and her roommates hassled me." I rubbed my face. "I suppose I deserve it, for all the trouble I've given them in the past."

Quen stood and gave me a smile, reaching across the desk to put a hand on my shoulder. Then he left, before I could figure out exactly what he meant by that gesture.

Later that evening, as I was enjoying a glass of whiskey at my desk prior to going to bed, my phone rang. I started, then answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Trent, it's me," Rachel's voice replied. "Um, I wanted to thank you for the flowers."

I smiled. "It's nothing. I'm sorry I missed you."

"Yeah, me too," she said, an edge to her voice. "I hope Ivy and Jenks didn't give you too hard a time."

"It wasn't too bad," I said. Surprisingly enough, her calling to thank me made all the irritation and annoyance of that visit seem worth it. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing pretty well," she replied. "I went clothes shopping at a human mall earlier today, that's why I missed your visit. Then I came home and got your flowers. Ivy and Jenks have been teasing me nonstop since I got back."

"I can imagine," I said darkly.

She laughed. "That's part of why I called you, to shut them up."

I smirked at that thought. "How did it work?"

"Like a charm," she said happily. "Jenks's mouth is still hanging open."

I had to chuckle at that. We fell silent for a moment. I found I wanted to see her again, but I didn't know what to say. I racked my brains, trying to think what would be an appropriate invitation.

"Would you like to come over for tea this Saturday?" I asked.

"I can't," she said regretfully. "I have a...date."

"A date?" I repeated in astonishment.

"In the Ever-After," she clarified, and I felt guilt twist in my guts. I had forgotten that she spent her Saturdays with the demons; it was a debt she said she'd gotten rescuing me from the life of a demon's familiar in the Ever-After. I decided to drop the issue.

"Hold on," Rachel said to someone else, then to me, "I'm sorry. Jenks wants to talk with you, if that's okay."

"Sure," I said, wondering what the pixy could possibly have to say to me.

There was a clunk as she laid the phone down, then I heard Jenks clear his throat authoritatively. "Look, Trent," he said, voice full of bravado. I could practically see him in my mind's eye standing with his hands on his hips, leaning forward. "I don't know what's going on between you and Rachel 'cuz neither of you is talking. But just know that if you hurt her, in any way," he paused, presumably for effect, "there will be nowhere for you to hide. I will make your life a living hell. Just so long as we're clear on that," he finished.

I blinked. "I got it," I said, a bit surprised at his protective behavior. It seemed that Jenks saw himself as something of a surrogate father for Rachel. I filed that insight away for further consideration.

I heard someone pick the phone up, then Rachel's voice came from the receiver. "Trent? You still there?"

"Yes, I'm here," I replied.

"Sorry about that," she said, sounding embarrassed. "He's not usually like that, but both he and Ivy have been really protective lately. Because of..." she cut herself off. "Well, you know. Plus for some reason they both think you have the hots for me."

"That," I said firmly, "is not the case. With no offense intended," I added apologetically.

She laughed. "I know, right? But try convincing them of that."

"I did," I muttered. "I don't think it's possible."

She laughed again at my words. "Well, I better let you go before Ivy decides to give you a speech or something like that. Thanks again for the flowers."

"You're quite welcome," I said. "I'll be seeing you."

"Bye," she responded and hung up.

As I replaced the phone onto its cradle, I reflected that my immediate denial of interest might have seemed overly defensive if the vampire or pixy had overheard it. In hindsight I should have laughed it off as Rachel had, but then not everything I did and said could be planned and calculated out. Of course anyone who really knew me also knew how ridiculous the idea was. It really wasn't even worth considering.

Trent was a good student in geography, that's why he thinks denial is a river in Egypt. Anyway, please review, it motivates me!


	6. Remove a Bond, Create a Bond

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 6: Remove a Bond, Create a Bond

* * *

On Sunday afternoon, just after I finished eating lunch, Frederick came to me with a cordless phone and a look of distaste.

"That shunned witch, Rachel Morgan, is convinced you'd like to talk to her," he said, skepticism in his body language.

I took the phone wordlessly and he turned and left my office. "Hello?" I said.

"Thank god," Rachel said. "I thought he was gonna hang up on me. Who is he, anyway?"

"Jonathan's replacement," I said. "I'll talk to him about it later."

"I see," she said slowly. "Anyway, I called to let you know I think I've found the spell to remove the familiar bond. I'd like to try it this afternoon." She paused, then said half-jokingly, "That deadline you gave me is getting close, so I figure I'd better get on it."

"That's good to hear," I said, relieved that she would soon be removing her infernal claim to me. "Do you need me there for it?"

"It looks like I'll need you there for the last part of the spell. Plus then we can check right away to make sure it worked. I'm pretty sure I have the right spell, but I'm not one hundred percent, ya know?"

I nodded to myself. What she said made sense. "I'll come on over, then."

"Sounds good," she said. "I'm going to begin preparations as soon as I finish eating and clean up the kitchen."

"Alright, I'll see you shortly." I hung up the phone and stood, my work forgotten. I sought out Quen and found him in my front office, overseeing the weekly sweep for spells and technological bugs. I pulled him aside to explain the situation to him.

"I'm going to visit Rachel Morgan. She thinks she's found the spell to remove the familiar bond and we're going to give it a try." He glanced toward the door of the office where two of my security staff were working. I cut in before he could speak. "I know you need to be here to oversee the sweep. I'll be fine; Rachel invited me over. As her guest, she'll consider me to be automatically under her protection."

Quen frowned at me for a long moment before relenting. "Very well. Be careful, and please give Miss Morgan my regards."

"I will," I told him, and slipped out to the garage quickly to avoid Frederick. I'd talk to him later; I didn't want him trying to drive me to meet the shunned witch in question.

I cranked the window down as I drove, enjoying the smell of spring in the wooded countryside. I rolled it up again, however, as I got into the city and the scents of spring were overpowered by those of smog and exhaust.

I parked across the street from Rachel's church and crossed over to it, checking for traffic first. I knocked loudly and heard Rachel's voice come faintly from somewhere inside.

"Come on in!"

I tried the latch and found the door unlocked. I closed the door behind me and followed the faint sounds of movement around to the large kitchen. I found Rachel there, consulting a piece of notebook paper. There was a medium-sized copper spelling pot sitting on the island in the middle of the kitchen, surrounded by various herbs and bottles of powder, all of which were clearly ingredients for the spell she was working on.

"Quen said to say hi," I said from the doorway.

She looked up at me and smiled. "Have a seat," she said, pointing with an elbow toward the dining table. I turned a chair around and sat facing her, watching her work. I didn't want to interrupt her and distract her at a crucial point in the spell, so I held my curiosity in check as she measured, ground, mixed, and muttered over the ingredients.

After about ten minutes she blew out a deep breath and stepped back, stretching her back. I took advantage of the break in her work to venture a question.

"Where did you find this spell?"

She came over to the dining table as if glad of the excuse to take a breather, sitting down and crossing her arms over her chest. "It was in Al's library. I actually first saw the book in the basement of the university's library. Nick stole it," here she grimaced, "and then Al tricked him into giving it to him."

She smiled, almost sadly. "Al is gonna be pissed when he finds out about this. He keeps nagging at me to 'rein in' my familiar," she said, making quote gestures with her fingers and rolling her eyes. "Honestly, I've been afraid to tell him the truth. I don't think he'll be pleased that I claimed you as my familiar just to rescue you."

I pursed my lips, thinking of the centuries-old hatred between elves and demons. "No, I can't imagine that he would." I paused, thinking in concern how the demon's wrath might manifest toward Rachel. "Ah, I doubt there's anything, but if there is something I could do to help get you out of hot water with him..." I paused. "Well, you should at least ask."

She shrugged. "I appreciate it. There probably isn't anything, but it's nice of you to offer."

I nodded. "He, ah...he won't hurt you, will he?"

She got a faraway look in her eyes, obviously remembering something. Then she blinked and focused on me. "No," she said. "Nothing permanent, at least. I'm reasonably sure of that."

There was silence for a moment, then I said, "Rein me in." I glanced at her. "He really said that?"

"Yeah," she said softly, not looking at me.

Well, that was a revelation. "I thought you were using the familiar bond to get back at me, to have something over my head." She gave me a look, disbelief and disgust rolled together, and I looked away, across the kitchen. "It's what I would have done," I said softly.

"I had to," she said just as quietly. "You were scheduled to be sold, auctioned off to the highest bidder. Al had nothing; he sold everything to bribe for a late court date, trying to kill me. You remember that mess," she added. "And of course I had nothing to offer in trade for you. I told them that you had paid for that trip into the Ever-After because you were my familiar. They knew I was lying, I think, but it was more advantageous for them to go along with the story Al and I made up, so they did."

I looked at her, the apology I couldn't seem to voice in my eyes. "I didn't realize."

She nodded once, accepting my apology.

"I guess I'm lucky that I'd make a lousy familiar," I joked.

She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes; they remained serious. "I'm not sure if you know, but I accidentally made Nick my familiar." She looked down at her feet. "I felt awful about it. I still do." She looked up at me, and I could read sincerity in her eyes. "I wouldn't do that to anyone, not even a slimy thief like him, or a murderer."

I bit down on an angry retort and stood up, walking several steps away. I really didn't want to talk any more, not if she was going to start in with the name-calling. I heard her stand behind me and go back to the counter where she had been working. I paced back and forth for a bit, then finally stopped to look at the flowers I had brought her. Someone had carefully moved them so they stood precisely in the middle of the table. Not Rachel, I thought, she wasn't obsessed with precision like that. Maybe Tamwood had done it.

"I was surprised to hear that you brought those over yourself," Rachel's voice came from behind me. I turned to look at her. She was gazing at the flowers, and I could tell from her expression that she liked them. "And not just that," she added, "but I would have expected you to get something huge and extravagant. Something obviously expensive."

I shrugged. "You've made it clear that wealth does not impress you. I figured it was the gesture that mattered, not how lavish it was."

"I agree," she said. "I just hadn't expected you to see it that way." After a few seconds of silence she added, "I really like them."

I smiled at that, pleased to hear her say it, but said nothing. A few minutes passed by in silence, then she spoke abruptly.

"It's ready to go."

I walked toward her, not sure of what I was supposed to do.

"Stand here," she instructed me, pointing at a space about two feet to her side. "Don't say anything, don't make any weird gestures or anything. Just stand there, please."

"I don't need to do anything?" I said, just to be sure.

"No," she said. "I have to sprinkle the solution over you, that's all."

"I think I can manage that," I said, earning a smile from her. She seemed a bit tense, which wasn't altogether surprising under the circumstances.

Her hair began to blow gently around her shoulders, and I realized she was using her second sight. "Rhombus," she whispered, and a semi-sphere of ever-after rose around us, enclosing the entire island and both of us. I tried not to stare at the dark patina of smut coating her aura, which had once looked so nearly identical to my own. She hadn't noticed my attention, though. She was occupied with staring at her circle, a pained expression on her face. After a few seconds she shook herself out of her reverie.

She reached behind her spell pot and retrieved three fat candles, one a bright yellow, the second a darker gold, and the last one gray. She arranged them in a line along the edge of the counter, with the gray one in the middle, the gold one near herself, and the yellow one by me. She made a gesture and muttered a word as she set each in its place.

She picked up a small copper bowl with a pile of herbs and powders in its center. She glanced at me, as if to remind me not to do anything, then turned to the larger copper pot, glancing at her sheet of paper.

"Nodus aeternus, sectivus sempiternus," she read and tipped the bowl's contents into the liquid in the pot. She pinched the wick of her candle and lit it with a muttered word before picking up a wooden spoon.

"Libertas ab iugum servitium." She stirred the concoction six times clockwise and carefully set the spoon to the side. She lit my candle in the same way as she had done her own.

"Libera vagari amplitudo mundus," she said, then pricked her finger with a diabetic finger stick, massaging a few drops of her blood into the mixture in the pot. She frowned at her paper for a moment, then put both hands into the mixture, coating them both in the earthy-smelling liquid. She pulled her hands out and flicked her fingers at me five times, spattering me with droplets of the stuff. I tried not to flinch as they hit my face and neck.

She took a deep breath. "Potestatis solitarius fatum tui," she intoned, and I felt the spell activate, flickering over my aura. The scent of burnt amber rose, and I fought back my fight-or-flight reaction; that smell usually heralded the arrival of a demon, but in this case it was apparently a result of the spell.

I realized I had closed my eyes and opened them again. The candles Rachel had lit had gone out, and now the gray one in the center burned. Rachel had also dropped her circle sometime after the spell—no, the curse—had taken. I looked at her and found her leaning against the counter, choking silently on something.

I stepped to her, taking her by the shoulders and turning her to face me. "Rachel? What's wrong?"

She gasped something I couldn't hear and took a deep, shuddering breath. I held onto her for a few more seconds until it seemed she'd recovered from whatever fit had taken her. I released her and stepped back.

"I'm okay," she said, sounding almost normal.

I unbuttoned the first few buttons on my shirt and pulled it aside to check my shoulder, seeing with relief that the mark was gone. "It worked," I told her.

She gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "That's good."

I looked at her closely. "What was that, a minute ago?" I began buttoning my shirt up, but I maintained eye contact with her.

She dropped her gaze. "Just the imbalance," she said casually.

I winced. I hadn't even thought about who would take the smut for the spell. Not that I would have volunteered if I had thought of it; I couldn't bear the thought of putting even a little more imbalance on my soul. Plus there was my political position to think about.

"Is it always that bad?" I asked quietly.

She shook her head. "Not usually. Well, demon curses are, but... It's more that I don't want to take it. Supposedly if I'd just accept it right away it wouldn't hurt, but well, you know me. I can't just not fight it."

I looked at her for a moment. Perhaps she really was insane. "At any rate, I'm sorry you had to take the smut. I didn't realize it would take a curse to remove the bond."

She shrugged. "I looked around. There's just no other way. Plus I said I'd get you out of the Ever-After safely. That means all the way." She met my eyes. "I'm just sorry I put it off for so long. I was wrong to do that."

"It's all right," I said. "You've set things to right now. Plus," I added with a wry smile, "you've been a little busy."

She smiled back, and silence descended. "Well," she said slowly, "I guess that's that."

I studied her for a moment. Her body language was closed, but she didn't seem to be asking me to leave. "So, when are you going to see the Coven about your un-shunning?" I asked politely.

She hunched her shoulders, closing in on herself even more. "A little more than two weeks."

"Are you worried about it?"

She gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, a bit."

There was another brief silence, then I said, "I know I didn't help you with them, last time-"

She interrupted me, voice irate. "You practically threw me under the bus!"

I felt my ears redden. I wasn't proud of that anymore. "Yes," I agreed shortly. "And I'm sorry about that, now. At any rate, I doubt they care what I have to say unless it's something against you, but if you think they might rule against you I can help you get out of there alive and intact. I've got the resources to hide you away from them."

She looked pensive. "I really hope it doesn't come to that." Her face cleared. "I think I did alright before."

I shrugged. "As you like. If you change your mind, or suddenly see the wisdom of a contingency plan, you know how to contact me."

She gave me a sideways look. "Yeah, but what is that protection gonna cost me?"

That was what she was worried about? She really needed to straighten out her priorities. "Consider it reparations for my unseemly behavior in the past," I said.

"Hmph," she replied. "I'll think about it."

"Do that," I said pleasantly. "And have a good day." I put a hand up in farewell.

"You too," she said, pensive again, and I turned to leave. She followed me to the front door, watching me until I got to my car. She waved as I pulled away from the curb and I waved back. She closed the door and I headed home.

* * *

So the Latin? Probably atrocious, I'm sorry. It was the best I could do what with not speaking a word of it. If anyone does speak Latin and wants to help me make it suck less please message me.


	7. Waiting Game

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 7: Waiting Game

* * *

The next evening, just as I was finishing dinner, the head of my private hospital found me.

"Mr. Kalamack, Ceridwen has gone into labor."

"Get back to her," I instructed the man. "I'll be there presently."

He nodded and left. I found the elf who served as second-in-charge to Quen. He knew something was up by the look on my face.

"What is it, sir?"

"You're in charge for tonight. Step up security to pattern beta. Call Quen only if you absolutely need him. Do you understand?"

The man nodded, unquestioning. That, along with his competence, were why I had hired him. I continued on to Quen's office, not waiting for him to greet me before I spoke.

"Ceri has gone into labor."

The older man was instantly on his feet, and I put up a hand to silence him.

"I've already informed your second-in-command. He's increasing security measures, especially to the hospital accesses, even as we speak." I smiled at him. "Go be with her."

He gave me a grateful look. "Thank you, Sa'han," he said and was gone. Next I sought out Frederick. I found him in his office on the phone. I gestured impatiently and he finished the call.

"Listen, Ceri just went into labor. I'll be overseeing things in the hospital. You're in charge of my business affairs for the rest of the evening. I'll have my cell phone," I said, showing him. "If there's something you can't take care of or you need my input, you can call me. Any questions?"

He shook his head, and I headed now to the private hospital facility located on my property. When I got there the area where Ceri was staying was filled with bustling doctors and nurses. I stopped by the nursing station.

"What's going on?" I asked the nurse in charge.

He grabbed a file and opened it, scanning rapidly. "Ceridwen reported feeling the first contractions about four hours ago. The nurse assigned to her stayed with her to time them and monitor her condition, and when they began occurring five minutes apart she notified the doctors and staff. That was," he checked his watch, "about fifteen minutes ago."

I nodded. "Why wasn't I informed when she had her first contraction?" I tried to keep the recrimination out of my voice.

"Sir, it usually takes many hours from the first contraction until birth occurs, sometimes nearly a whole day. It's simply too long for any staff to be on high alert. Birth is not usually considered to be imminent until the contractions occur at five-minute intervals."

I nodded, accepting his explanation.

He pressed on. "At this point, there will probably still be several hours until she gives birth. Especially being an elf, her labor will likely be long and may be difficult. The staff is all assembled," he said crisply, "and ready to ease any difficulties that may arise."

"Good," I said. "Now what do we do?"

"Now we wait," he said simply. "It will be best if the birth can be allowed to progress naturally. The staff is ready to administer any medications needed or to perform a C-section if absolutely necessary, but hopefully it won't come to that. The father is with her to provide moral support. We've made all the preparations we can. Now we just let nature take its course."

I nodded and blew out a sigh. I wished there was something I could do, just to feel useful and keep myself busy. This was the downside of being well-prepared, it seemed.

I went to the waiting area nearby and paced back and forth for several minutes, then I thought of Rachel. She and Ceri were close; surely she would like to come over if she was available. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed her number.

"Hello, Vampiric Charms, how can I help you?" Rachel's voice answered.

"Rachel, it's Trent. Ceri just went into labor. Would you like to come over?"

"Oh my god," she said. "Yes, I would love to. Is everything all right? How is she?"

"So far everything is going well. Come see her for yourself. Bring your roommates, if they'd like to come."

There was a pause, then she replied, "Yeah, they want to come. We'll be there as soon as possible, okay?"

I chuckled at her nervousness, sharing it as I did. "Don't break the speed limit to do it. It's a waiting game at this point."

"Okay. Okay," she said. "Be there soon." She hung up, and I tucked my phone back into my pocket. I resumed my pacing for lack of else to do. My mind was racing furiously, checking and re-checking my preparations, trying to see if I'd perhaps missed something.

After a while I stopped by Ceri's room and poked my head in. Ceri was propped in a semi-sitting position. She was paler than usual but otherwise looked the same. Quen was sitting at her side, holding her head. He looked completely nerve-wracked.

I stepped in and went to stand by Quen. "I called Morgan. She and her roommates are on the way. How are you two doing?"

Ceri gave me a wan smile. "I'm fine," she said. Quen didn't say anything, but his expression said he didn't agree. I put my hand on his shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.

"It's going to go just fine," I told him reassuringly. "We've been preparing for this for months now. Don't worry."

He nodded and turned to Ceri as sweat suddenly beaded her forehead. I slipped out quickly; I really had no experience with this sort of thing, no clue how to act.

After a few more minutes of pacing, Rachel entered the hospital, followed by Ivy. They spotted me and Rachel headed toward me, Tamwood trailing behind her. I stopped my pacing and turned to greet them.

"I'm glad you're here," I said. I almost started when Jenks suddenly flew into the air. I hadn't noticed him sitting on one of Rachel's hoop earrings. The two women looked back at me with nearly identical anxious expressions.

"So far, everything has been going well," I continued. "The doctors are hopeful that the birth will go normally with a minimal amount of medical intervention. However," I said, tempering my words with a note of caution, "the delivery will probably be long, and the doctors will have to take the child away immediately for preliminary tests."

Ivy nodded thoughtfully at that. Rachel was wringing her hands. "Can we see her?"

"Of course. Follow me." I led them to Ceri's room and opened the door, holding it for them, but I didn't follow. I figured they might want to talk privately.

I resumed my pacing in the waiting area, pausing in surprise when Tamwood exited the room only a few minutes later. She made for the exit, not looking at me, but she stopped when I approached her.

"Is everything alright?" I asked her.

She kept her eyes down. "Yes. I just need to get away for a while."

_Strange,_ I thought. "If you leave this building and take the walk back toward the house, then turn left when you reach it and follow it around the side of the building, you'll find a small patio with a garden area. I'll be sure to send someone for you if you haven't returned when they begin the delivery."

"Thank you," she said softly. "I'm not very good with all this emotional stuff."

"Neither am I," I said with a rueful smile. She looked up at me then. Her irises were slightly dilated, and I realized that something had gotten to her. She said nothing, though, moving silently to the exit and leaving the hospital.

About ten minutes later Rachel left the room as well and came to where I was pacing, her steps slow. She sat in a chair and drew her legs up, wrapping her arms around them. I stopped my pacing and sat down as well, leaving a chair between us.

"I feel kinda helpless," she confessed to me. "I wish there was something I could do to help Ceri, or even just to make her feel better, you know, less worried."

"I feel the same way," I said quietly. "But the fact is, at this point I've already done everything I can." _I just hope it's enough._

Rachel nodded at my words, her hair falling forward. "I guess all we can do now is be there for her."

We sat together silently for several minutes. Rachel gave me an odd look and I realized I was fidgeting, touching my hair, adjusting my watch, smoothing my clothing. I forced myself to stop, but it was hard to sit still.

I looked at Rachel. She was sitting now with one knee to her chest, her arms draped artfully over it. Her eyes were unfocused, looking past the waiting area and the lobby.

"Did I ever tell you," she asked slowly, "exactly how I met Ceri?"

I shook my head, and she glanced over at the motion. "Tell me."

She took a deep breath. "It was the night that Piscary was sentenced. I'm sure you heard that I summoned Al into the courtroom for his testimony. Well, the deal was, he gave his testimony and I would be his familiar voluntarily, but I'd keep my soul."

She pushed her hair back with the heel of her hand. "It was a gamble," she admitted. "I thought that if I kept my soul, I would keep my free will, and I might be able to stay here. And I was right. He had to drag me to a ley line to take me to the Ever-After, because he couldn't use me through the lines.

"But that's another story. Anyway, I summoned him in the graveyard, because it's holy ground there, except for the one grave with the angel. I figured that way he couldn't go anywhere. He showed up with the familiar spell ready. That's when I first saw her. I bullied him into giving her her soul back, then when we'd completed the spell, fulfilled the terms of the deal, I dragged her onto holy ground."

She smiled fondly, reminiscing. "God, Al was furious. He tried to command me to come with him, but I still had my soul so I could say no. He tried to say I had broken the agreement, but he had performed the spell, which was technically the deal."

Her smile dimmed. "She was so quiet at first. I can't even imagine the kind of abuse she had to put up with, and for so long..." She took a deep breath. "I was amazed at how quickly she bounced back. She's a very strong woman."

I nodded in agreement. She was, at that. I reflected on the story Rachel had just told me. Before, all I'd known was that Ceri had been Al's familiar and that Rachel had somehow managed to get her away from him. This shed light on several events, most notably the time the demon had appeared on this side of the lines and tried to drag Rachel away.

"You know," she said thoughtfully, "I think she had a bit of a crush on you, back when you first met."

I looked at her in surprise and doubt. "Why do you think that?"

She smiled at some memory. "When I first told her about you, and suggested you would like a sample of her DNA, she already knew about you. She said she'd been waiting for me, for my approval, to see you. And after that meeting, after you and Quen left, she said she liked you. She thought you were innocent." Her smile faded. "She was pretty upset when she realized you were still terrified of her because of her smut."

I looked down, my thoughts dismal. I had met her for tea, courting her in a way because I knew she was a good genetic match. Plus she was old-blood royalty, and after breaking things off with Ellasbeth I felt it was my duty to find a suitable replacement.

But try as I might I couldn't get past the blackness on her soul. She had touched me, and I had been unable to control my fear. I had pulled away from her. I apologized profusely, but the damage had been done.

"It's not a bad thing," Rachel mused. "She and Quen are great together, and I'm glad they found each other. They both deserve to be happy."

_And I don't?_ I thought bitterly.

Rachel looked over at me, and for a second I was afraid I had spoken aloud. But she just studied me, considering. "I guess, though, everyone deserves at least the chance to be happy. Well, maybe not everyone," she admitted, wrinkling her nose up, "but I don't think I have the right to decide who deserves it and who doesn't."

"Who does?" I said morosely.

She nodded in silent agreement. I realized as we sat in silence that she had been trying to get my mind off my worries by telling me these stories. It was sweet of her to do that, and it had helped a little.

"How was her pregnancy?" Rachel asked suddenly. "Did things go well?"

I realized that despite Rachel and Ceri's close friendship that they must have had very little communication since Ceri had moved here. "It went well, as well as it could go, really. We made sure that she got proper nutrition and avoided processed foods and chemicals. Plus she carried it to full term. A premature birth would have been a bad sign."

Rachel nodded. "That's good." She shot me a brief smile. "It'll be fine. Ceri's to strong for it to be any other way."

"I hope so," I said fervently.

"Have faith, Trent," she said, chiding me gently.

_If only it were that easy,_ I thought to myself.

We fell into silence again. After about half an hour, Rachel began to doze off in her chair. I stood and began pacing again, unable to hold still any longer. I moved about restlessly for a time, but I couldn't maintain that level of stress. Eventually I sat down in a chair and curled up, resting my eyes.

* * *

Well, it's your lucky day. This chapter and the next were originally all one humongo-chapter which I split up for all our sakes. But I'll give you both of them at once because it would be too cruel to stop here.


	8. Small Packages

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 8: Small Packages

* * *

I woke suddenly from a fitful doze when I heard the front door bang open. Tamwood had entered and then paused just inside. I rose and went to her, and she moved as well, meeting me halfway.

"Sounds like the excitement's picking up," she said, and sure enough, a few moments later a nurse came hurrying toward us.

"Sir, it's almost time for the birth."

"Thank you," I said, dismissing the woman and turning to wake Rachel. Ivy made a sound in her throat and put a hand up, as though to stop me, but when I turned to see what the issue was she was facing away from me. I shrugged and put my hand on Rachel's shoulder.

"Wake up," I said, giving her a gentle shake. "It's time."

She yawned and stretched before hopping to her feet. "What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

I checked my watch. "Almost twenty minutes past midnight," I replied, and led the way to Ceri's room. On our arrival, the doctor directed us to an adjoining room with a viewing window. He pulled aside the curtains in Ceri's room so we could see. Quen was already there, still looking anxious. I went to stand by him, a tacit show of support. Jenks was sitting on his shoulder, nearly asleep by the look of him. Rachel came to stand on the other side of me, and Tamwood stood to her side, farthest away from Quen.

Ceri's delivery room was full of doctors and nurses, all moving about efficiently and somehow staying out of one another's way. We all watched without a word, listening as the doctors conversed back and forth, using enough medical jargon that I, at least, had no clue what they were saying.

Several minutes passed in silence. There wasn't much to see from here; Ceri's bed was oriented to the side with a sheet up to give her some privacy. She looked drawn, tired, but she didn't seem to be in pain. That was one advantage of my private hospital; I had revived old medical practices that others considered questionable or downright illegal. Sadly, that meant that the quality of care in other hospitals was rather lower than in mine. I reflected with an old, familiar bitterness on the foolish fears of the populace, especially the humans, that had crippled medicine and science, sending the world into a miniature dark age.

Suddenly the excitement and activity in the delivery room increased. The head doctor moved into a "catcher" position, and a minute later a tiny cry sounded. The man stepped back, holding the newborn in his gloved hands, and one nurse came to his side and cleared the child's nostrils as another severed the umbilical cord.

The doctor placed the child on a tiny rolling bed and left the room with it, headed for the lab across the hall. The nurse gestured for us to come back, and we all piled out into the hallway and entered Ceri's room.

"Where is he?" she cried, anguished. Quen went to her, taking her hand, and the nurse put a hand on his arm.

"Congratulations, sir. You are the father of a baby boy."

Quen just looked at her, an almost beatific look of amazement on his features. He turned back to Ceri, speaking softly to her, trying to calm her down.

"It's okay, my love. It's going to be fine."

"Where did they take him?" She was looking into Quen's eyes, almost panicked.

"They're just doing some tests." He patted her hand. "I'm going to watch. I won't leave his side, okay?"

She nodded, trying to calm herself, and Quen left the room at a run. Ceri looked around, her eyes fixing on Rachel, who stepped to her side. I moved forward as well to stand beside her.

"When will I see my baby?" she whispered, and Rachel took her hand in both of her own.

"Soon," she said encouragingly.

"But when?"

I coughed gently. "After the tests, the doctors may need to provide additional treatment. It could be-" I broke off as Rachel gave me a particularly vicious warning look.

"Trent's just worrying over nothing," she said. "Your baby is fine, they're just doing the tests to prove it. They'll probably bring him back in less than an hour. You should sleep until then so you won't be tired. You want to be awake to see him, right?"

"Yes," she said, calming down. "I want to be awake."

"Then sleep now," Rachel said soothingly. Ceri closed her eyes and relaxed fractionally.

I took Rachel's arm and drew her out into the hallway. Once the door had closed behind us, I released her arm and turned to glare at her.

"You lied to her," I hissed. "She's your friend. Why would you do that?"

Rachel suddenly looked tired, the strength and confidence she'd shown Ceri dropping away. "She knows. She understands that they need to check him out right away. She's just very emotional right now. What she needs is to relax, sleep and regain her strength. When she wakes up she'll be more rational."

I shook my head, not sure if Rachel really had done the right thing, though I could see that her heart had been in the right place. I opened the door and peeked in. Tamwood was sitting by the bedside, humming softly to Ceri. Jenks was sitting on the pillow by her head, telling her some story about one of his own children. Ceri herself looked to be half-asleep. I closed the door again.

"Um, can we see the baby?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

I nodded. "This way." I led her to the observation room for the testing laboratory. We watched together as the doctors took samples of blood and other DNA, as they inspected his eyes, nose, and mouth, and measured his breathing. He was crying in earnest, his tiny face red from his exertions.

Rachel shifted uncomfortably beside me. "He's really crying. Is he all right?"

I smiled. "Believe it or not, that's a good sign. It means his lungs are strong and healthy."

"Hm. Well, he must be very healthy then, what with the racket he's making."

Quen emerged from a side door, dressed now in hospital scrubs. He washed his hands and put on a pair of gloves before going to hover near his son.

After about twenty minutes the doctors finished up the tests, and one of them placed the child carefully in Quen's arms. He carried him out of the room, bringing him back to Ceri, no doubt. The doctors continued to process the tests and confer, then one of them came forward and pressed the intercom button. His voice came through a speaker in the observation room.

"Sir, all early tests and indications show that this is the healthiest elven child to be born in several thousand years."

Rachel let out a whoop of joy and grabbed my hands, swinging me around. I almost choked on my surprise, fighting to keep my balance. She let go of me, grinning, and I tried to glare at her, but I was just too happy about the good news to get angry.

"Lighten up, Trent," she said, teasing. "Cut loose a little. You've got a reason to celebrate." She turned to look into the lab again.

I shook my head, still smiling, and came to stand beside her. I put a hand on her shoulder, turning her slightly to face me.

"We did this, you and I. We went into the Ever-After and made this possible."

She looked at me, solemn, but her green eyes were shining. "Yeah, we did," she agreed. "You know, for all the trouble of that trip, the capture, the smut, the weekly trips to the Ever-After...it was totally worth it." She smiled brilliantly, infectiously, and I responded in kind.

"I never really thought I'd live to see my species made whole. We've been trying for so long." I took a deep breath. "I thought I'd spend my whole life on this. It seems almost miraculous. We have a real chance at life now."

Rachel laughed. "I would have done it just for Ceri."

I just looked at her; her capacity for love continued to amaze me. I took her hand in my own before I lost my nerve. "You really would move heaven and earth for the ones you love, wouldn't you?" I said softly.

She blushed a little but didn't pull away. "As much as I'm able to, yeah."

After a moment I released her hand. "Let's go see Ceri." She nodded assent, and we crossed the hallway, entering Ceri's room. Ceri look angelic now, with her newborn son in her arms. He was breastfeeding and I looked away quickly, feeling my ears turn red. Quen was sitting by her side. Ivy stood against the wall, cupping a sleeping Jenks in one hand. She was smiling. I wondered how often the cold, distant-seeming woman got to see the happier side of life.

Rachel crossed the room to stand beside Ivy. "Have you decided on a name?" she asked.

Quen turned toward her. "Raymond Quentin Dulciate," he replied proudly.

"Oh, that's right," Rachel muttered.

I gave her a sideways look, then turned to Quen. "It's a good name," I said.

"He's beautiful," Rachel added warmly. I looked at her again; she was watching the baby with a look of wistful yearning. I realized suddenly what a difficult thing it must be for her to know she could never experience this joy herself. Ivy seemed to sense this as well. She reached over to Rachel with her free hand and squeezed her shoulder. Rachel looked at her, and for a second the pain that she felt at her own loss was written plainly in her eyes. Ivy returned the look with pain of her own, and I wondered if Ivy also couldn't have children for some reason.

I felt a pang of jealousy at the closeness of their bond. I wished that I had a friend so close that words were completely unnecessary between us. Unfortunately, with my need to keep much of my private life secret, it didn't seem likely that I'd find a confidant any time soon. Perhaps I'd get lucky enough to marry a woman who would understand me like that.

"Rachel," Ceri said softly. Rachel and Ivy both blinked, and the moment passed. Rachel stepped forward to Ceri's bedside.

Ceri smiled up at her, an understanding look tinged with sadness on her face. "There are always other ways, you know," she said softly. Rachel looked confused, but I understood what Ceri was saying. She meant that Rachel could use alternative medicine to have children, though they couldn't share her DNA.

"I think I see," she said slowly.

Ceri looked over at me. "When you decide," she said, "you can ask Trenton. His people know how to do it."

Rachel frowned, seemingly not liking the idea of needing my help. I shrugged, my anger piqued. "Or if you'd rather, you can find another illegal genetics lab. Good luck finding one with proper sanitation, or that won't take a kidney to make a profit on the side."

She grimaced. "Well, when you put it that way..." she said. She blew out a sigh. "Is there no legal way for me to have children?"

I shook my head slowly. "I'm afraid not."

"You know," she said after a pause, "sometimes it really sucks to be me. Plus," she added, "if they have my DNA, well, that wouldn't work. If they can't be mine genetically, then why bother? Whose kids would I be having?"

Behind Rachel, Ivy opened her mouth to speak and stopped herself in the same breath. I wondered to myself exactly what the relationship between those two was. I had always assumed they were just good friends, but after observing Tamwood's behavior under stress, I was beginning to wonder.

Ceri just smiled. "If you don't find someone whose children you'd like to carry, then there's no problem. But if you do find someone, remember there are options."

"You're right," she said softly. "Thank you, Ceri." She smiled sadly. "I guess it's good to know I have a few choices I didn't think I had." She stifled a yawn, which reminded me of how tired I was, myself.

Ivy noticed it as well and detached herself from the wall, coming toward me. "Thanks for letting us come over for the birth. We'd better get going, though. It's been a late night."

I glanced at my watch. It was getting on toward four in the morning. I looked back at the women in front of me. "It's so late it's early," I said with a smile. "Let me put you up for the night. It's a better plan than driving while you're tired. Plus you'd be dodging drunk drivers."

Ivy gave me a careful smile. "Thanks, but I think my reflexes are up to the task."

I shrugged; she had a point. "If you stay over, you can visit Ceri again in the morning."

That gave Tamwood pause, and Rachel nodded. "Let's do that, then," she said, and Ivy nodded. The two women moved together to Ceri's bedside.

"Goodnight," Rachel said. "We'll see you again in the morning."

Ceri favored them with a warm smile. "Sleep well," she said before settling her eyes back on her newborn son.

"Goodnight," I said as well, turning to leave. I held the door for Rachel and Ivy, then led them out of the hospital. We followed the covered walk back to the main building and ascended to the second floor. I led them to the guest wing, then stopped before a pair of doors.

I gestured at them. "You can stay here for the night. If you need anything, my housekeeper is in the first room to the left of the stairs. Feel free to use everything in the rooms." Each one had a minibar as well as a luxurious bathroom, and I wanted them to know they could use them if they wanted.

Ivy yawned, showing off her sharp canines. "'Night," she said and slipped into the first room, still carrying Jenks. Rachel moved to the second door and paused with her hand on the knob to look at me.

"Thanks for putting us up," she said. She gave me a crooked smile. "You look dead on your feet. Get some sleep."

"If you insist," I said, joking. She disappeared into her room, and I went to my own bedroom and changed into pajamas. I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

* * *

If you're wondering why I chose that name for Ceri's baby, check ODW, page 487 in the paperback version. Also, review!


	9. Babies Bring Out the Best in Everyone

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 9: Babies Bring Out the Best in Everyone

* * *

I woke up late the next morning feeling refreshed and recovered. I dressed hastily and headed immediately to the hospital to check on Ceri and the baby. I found them both asleep with Quen standing guard over them. There was a cot in one corner, ad it wasn't hard to deduce that he hadn't left the room since bringing Raymond back.

I gave him a smile before leaving to head back to the main building. On my way to the dining room I encountered Rachel wandering along, seemingly lost.

"Looking for something?" I drawled, and she jumped and turned around to face me.

"Sheesh, Trent, you about scared the piss out of me." That gave me a vivid mental image somewhere between hilarious and horrifying. "I'm looking for your dining room," she continued, oblivious to my distraction.

"You're actually almost there," I said and motioned for her to walk with me. "How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby," she said and snickered at her own joke. "I gotta get myself a mattress like that."

I smiled slightly. "You used to wonder how I could sleep at night, well, now you know."

She laughed as we entered the dining room. I crossed the room to the entrance to the kitchen, Rachel trailing behind me uncertainly.

Maggie caught sight of me, her face breaking into a warm smile. "Mr. Kalamack, I was beginning to wonder if you was getting out of bed at all today!" she mock-scolded me, her teasing words seemingly at odds with her facial expression and tone.

I schooled my features to look properly chastised. "I'm sorry, ma'am. It won't happen again." Rachel watched our exchange with bemused fascination.

"What'll you have for breakfast, then?" Maggie asked, glancing from Rachel to me.

I pursed my lips, thinking. "Let's have french toast and syrup and whatever fruit you have at hand. That should be quick, and I'm starving." I winked at her as she began pulling out the fixings for french toast.

"So what's got your schedule all in a tizzy, then?" she asked, chatting while she worked.

"Ceri had her baby last night," I explained, leaning against the wall just inside the kitchen. Might as well get comfortable; she would want to hear all about it. "It was a long night, but it went well. It was a boy. Raymond Quentin Dulciate was born at 12:47 this morning, weighing 6 pounds and 11 ounces. So far it seems he's in perfect health."

Maggie sighed. "Oh, Mr. Kalamack, that's wonderful to hear. And how is his mama?"

"Ceri was quite weary, but she was asleep when I checked in on her a bit ago. The doctors told me last night that she should be out of bed in about a week."

"And what does this mean in the big picture?" she asked.

"We're saved," I said softly. "One child at a time, we can secure our future."

We fell silent for a few minutes, then Maggie spoke softly. "Your father would be so proud of you right now."

I felt my chest swell in pride. I knew intellectually that he would be glad I had succeeded in the work he had started, but to hear it from someone who I not only loved and respected but who had known my father made it so much more meaningful to me.

"Thank you," I murmured, barely trusting my voice.

She just smiled, and after a few seconds I heard Rachel pull out a chair at the dining table and sit. Reminded that I was neglecting my guest, I left the kitchen and took a seat at the table, across from Rachel.

She regarded me with a deeply thoughtful look that seemed to me a bit uncharacteristic for her. I looked down, away from her scrutiny.

"I like seeing this other side of you," she said. "I used to look at you as nothing more than a bad person, a murderer and a drug lord. And it's so easy to pretend it's black and white like that. But it's not the reality of the situation, at least not the whole picture. You're a man, just a regular guy, really. You have your fears, you have your goals, and sometimes you do things that I think is wrong."

"You know Ivy has killed people before," I said softly, trying not to sound accusing.

A shadow seemed to cross her face. "I know that. But she's trying so hard to get out of that life, to leave it behind."

"So am I," I said, no longer able to the hide the accusation in my tone.

"I've noticed that," she said a bit defensively, then softened her tone. "I can tell. It's...I'm glad."

Reassured somewhat, I sat back. Maggie emerged from the kitchen with a platter of french toast and two bowls balanced on her arm, carrying a glass container of syrup in the other hand. She set the lot down on the table, revealing a bowl of chopped cherries in fruit syrup and another of freshly sliced peaches. I realized by the size of the stack of french toast that she'd been waiting for Rachel and myself to finish our conversation before coming out of the kitchen.

"You know where the dishes are," she said. "Just give me a holler if you need more toast."

I rose to get the plates and silverware. "That reminds me," I said. "Maggie, if you don't mind, would you make up two hot trays, one for Ceri and one for Quen?"

"Sure thing," she said, and disappeared back into the kitchen.

I got out a stack of plates and a handful of silverware and set them on the table. I had no idea when Ivy would wake up, but there would be plenty of breakfast for her and anyone else who wanted it.

Rachel and I helped ourselves to the food, and we ate in a silence that was more testament to Maggie's excellent cooking than to any lingering awkwardness between us. She finished several minutes before I did and watched me put food away with a look of incredulity on her face. I could tell that she was trying to hide it, but I was good at reading her. Plus, she sucked at hiding her thoughts.

When I finished I permitted myself a sigh of pleasure before standing up and walking to the kitchen's entrance.

"Do you have those hot trays, Maggie?"

"Sure an' I do, Mr. Kalamack," she said cheerfully, and picked up a tray laden with french toast and fruit and its own pot of syrup. She handed it to me and went back for another tray. I shot a questioning glance at Rachel and found her behind me, ready to take the other tray, so I moved out of the way. Once we were both set I turned and led her out of the dining room toward the hospital.

On the way there we ran into Ivy and Jenks. They eyed the food in our hands hungrily and I hid a smile. "Food's just around the corner there, second door on the left."

Jenks lit off in that direction immediately, but Ivy paused. "Where will you be?" she asked, the question directed at Rachel.

"Visiting Ceri," she responded, and Ivy nodded, her hair still swinging as she disappeared around the corner. Rachel and I continued on to the hospital, and an aide opened the door for us to enter. I gestured for him to accompany us, and he did, opening the door to Ceri's room for us as well.

We entered the room and found Ceri awake this time, though Raymond was still asleep. Quen's eyes got a little bigger at the sight of the food, and he stood and grabbed a rolling tray table for Ceri. Rachel placed her burden on the table and I handed mine to Quen once he had sat again.

"Compliments of Maggie," I said.

Ceri sighed. "This looks heavenly. I'm starving." She began eating with a daintiness that belied her words. Rachel wandered over to look at Raymond while they ate. He was sleeping in a hospital crib to the side of of Ceri's bed. After a few minutes I joined her. He looked peaceful in his sleep, and as I watched he moved, flailing his arms for a second before settling down.

I glanced at Rachel. She had her hands in her pockets and wore the same look of longing on her face as before.

"If you want to touch him," Ceri's voice interrupted, "you can wash your hands in the sink in the corner."

Rachel and I both looked up at her, then Rachel jolted into motion, crossing to the sink and washing her hands. After a moment of deliberation I followed her and washed my own hands as she carefully picked Raymond up and settled him in her arms. He made a soft, fussy sound but didn't wake. She smiled down tenderly at the baby, and the expression transfigured her face, making her radiantly beautiful. My heart ached to see her, so lovely in her borrowed happiness. She rocked Raymond gently in her arms and I watched, spellbound.

We remained like that until Ivy came in with Jenks. Ceri and Quen were finishing the last of their breakfast. Jenks was singing raucously and hiccuping, and Rachel shot Ivy a questioning look.

"He got drunk off the syrup," she said by way of explanation. She shot me a glance and added dryly, "Apparently Trent buys the good stuff. His words, not mine."

Rachel gave the diminutive pixy an exasperated look, but he was beyond noticing. Ivy came over to Rachel and cooed over Raymond. Behind her, Quen tidied his and Ceri's trays and put them in the corner. After a minute Ivy went over to Ceri's bedside and began conversing with her in low tones.

"Here, Trent." Rachel's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I turned to see her beside me, holding Raymond out to me. I stared in surprise for a second before putting my arms out reflexively. She laid Raymond in my arms, supporting his head carefully as she passed him over to me. Apparently satisfied with how I was holding him, she joined Ivy and Ceri in their conversation.

I looked down at the child in my arms. He had been disturbed by the transfer and he was moving around and fussing softly. As I watched, he opened up startlingly blue eyes and stared up at me. The corners of his eyes crinkled and he began to look upset, so I rocked him gently and was gratified when he settled down. He kept staring, unfocused, up at me though, and moving his arms and legs as though trying to figure out what to do with them.

I let the soothing sound of quiet conversation wash over me as I studied the infant I held. He was beautiful; there could be no doubt about that. His face was a bit ruddy and he had just a little bit of pale fuzz on the top of his head. I marveled at his tiny fingers, at how perfect and detailed they were, and his tiny mouth and ears.

I glanced up when I realized the conversation had stopped. All three women were staring at me, as well as Quen. Jenks, who appeared to be back to normal, flew over to me and perched on my shoulder to look down at Raymond.

"Trenton," Ceri said slowly, "I don't believe I've ever seen you smile so much, or look so happy."

I glanced down at Raymond, still happily wiggling in my arms. "This has been my life's goal," I said almost reverently. "Everything I've done was to accomplish this."

"Now what will you do?" Rachel asked, giving me a curious look.

"Now I'm going to make sure our children continue to be born healthy."

She gave me a sly look. "And are you gonna start having kids of your own?"

I knew she was trying to make me feel flustered, embarrassed, but the question only made me pensive. "Maybe, but first I have to find someone to have kids with." _And who knows how long that will take,_ I thought, _especially if I waited to find love._

Rachel looked at me, taken aback. "I'm sorry. I didn't imagine you would have trouble finding a woman."

I laughed. "That's not the problem. The problem is the women who throw themselves at me all have an agenda. Some of them are gold diggers, some are attention whores, some just want to be trophy wives or see me as a prize. Now, with my people's future secured, I can try to find a woman I love, settle down, have a family. The trick," I said morosely, "is finding someone who will love me."

Rachel nodded sympathetically, her face thoughtful. I figured she'd never thought about the downsides to my notoriety. Raymond began to fuss, and I resumed rocking him, trying to settle him down, but he only got louder. I looked to Ceri, beseeching, and she smiled.

"Bring him to me. He's probably hungry."

I carried him over to the bed and she lifted him out of my arms and settled him at her breast.

"Well, it's been great seeing you, Ceri, but we should get going," Rachel said.

Ceri hugged each of the women with her free arm. "It's been nice having you here. Please come back to visit."

"We will," Ivy promised, and the two women left. I lifted a hand to Ceri and Quen before following them. I let myself fall behind a bit as we walked, giving them a modicum of privacy. I pondered as I walked the irony of my situation. Rachel who practically raised herself after her father's death, was surrounded by people she loved, and who loved her. By contrast I had Jonathan, Quen, and others to raise and shelter me when my father died, yet now I was alone, without any close friends.

I was startled out of my thoughts by Rachel's voice. "Jenks, would you mind hanging with Ivy for a few minutes?"

I didn't catch any of the pixy's response except a tone of surprise and then suspicion, but after Rachel shot him a hard look he flew over to perch on the living vampire's shoulder. Rachel slowed her pace, dropping back even with me. I waited in silence, expecting her to say something, but she didn't speak. She seemed to be searching for something to say without finding anything. She appeared anxious, biting her lip and looking down at the ground as she walked, and I decided to break the silence.

"You know all about my goals. I'm curious about you; what are your life goals?"

A shadow seemed to pass over her face, leaving sadness in its wake. "It used to be I wanted to enjoy working as a runner, eventually meet someone, get married, settle down and have kids. Of course, that's all out the window. Now I just want to stay alive, and keep the people I love alive, and stay on this side of the lines. I just want to get by and be left alone."

I stayed silent as we entered the house and began navigating around to the entrance of the garage, but I thought to myself that it was sad how small her goals had become. We caught up with Ivy and Jenks, who were waiting at the garage's entrance. Some kind of communication passed between the two women, and Ivy huffed and went on into the garage, leaving Rachel behind.

After a few seconds of awkward silence I spoke quietly. "The day my goal was realized was the day you lost yours." She nodded, not meeting my eyes. "I'm sorry," I said, and meant it.

She gave me a small smile. "It's okay. Better to find out that way than by getting pregnant and actually giving birth to a demon."

I hid a wince at her plain words. "You do have a point there," I agreed.

After several more seconds of silence, she raised her eyes to mine. "Well, I shouldn't keep Ivy and Jenks waiting," she said.

I couldn't explain or understand it, but I didn't want her to leave. For once, though, I couldn't think of a single thing to say. Acting on a sudden impulse, I stepped up to her and took her face in my hands, kissing her squarely on the lips. Her green eyes grew wide and she made a small noise of surprise. I refused to back down, caressing her lips gently but insistently with my own, and was gratified after a few seconds when she responded, kissing me in return and putting her arms around my neck.

The kiss probably only lasted fifteen or twenty seconds, but it felt like an eternity to me. We drew apart reluctantly and I studied her face. She was speechless, thunderstruck, and I wondered with some amusement if my own face looked the same.

"Come back to me soon," I murmured.

She blushed deeply. "I will," she whispered and fled into the garage.

* * *

And about time too! Please leave a review.


	10. Protection Racket

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 10: Protection Racket

* * *

Despite her words, I didn't see Rachel again for a week. For me at least, it was a very long week. It was all I could do not to call or visit her, so badly I wanted to see her. However, I knew she needed space, as well as time, to think about things, about...us. Now there was a weird thought. But at the same time I liked that thought far more than I would ever have believed I would.

Finally, though, I got the call from my gate guard informing me that Rachel Morgan was here. I tidied up my office, trepidation in my gut. I had been wanting to see her, but now that she had come I was nervous about her visit.

A few minutes later Frederick showed her into my office. She came forward to clasp my hand before seating herself. As before, she blushed when we touched. It may have been my imagination, but it seemed to me her blush was a little deeper than before.

"Trent, how have you been?"

I smiled, folding my hands and hiding my nervousness. "I'm doing well. How are you?"

"I'm okay." She looked down at her hands, then pulled her eyes back to mine, as if it took an effort. "I, uh, I'd like to take you up on your offer of protection from the Coven. I mean, if that's okay."

"Of course," I said reassuringly. I pressed the button on my intercom. "Quen, please come to my office."

He stepped into the room ready for trouble but not obvious about it. I gestured to Rachel.

"I've offered to provide Miss Morgan any protection she may need from the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards. Could you recommend someone for the job?"

Quen relaxed almost invisibly as he considered my question. After a few seconds of pondering he said, "I believe we have someone on staff who has the necessary skills. Shall I send him in?"

"Please," I said.

Quen nodded. "His name is Randall Simone. He was a candidate for the Coven before you hired him."

I smiled broadly, pleased. "Excellent. He should be a valuable asset, then."

Quen gave me a smile and murmured a greeting to Rachel before slipping out.

"So when are you meeting with the coven?" I asked Rachel.

"In eight days." She bit her lip nervously. "Um, and I'm not entirely sure how I'm getting there. I mean, I guess I'll have to drive." She seemed to realize that she'd begun to babble and shut herself up.

I nodded to myself, drumming my fingers idly on my desk. "I'll take care of transportation. Driving's too dangerous if they decide to go back on their word."

"Thanks," she said, hiding a grimace poorly, and I was reminded of how much she hated owing others.

The door opened, and a serious-looking witch entered. He was average-looking and muscular, though not overly so, but he smelled strongly of redwood. I stood and shook his hand.

"Randall. Thank you for coming." I gestured for him to sit in the chair next to Rachel. "This is Rachel Morgan." Upon hearing her name he turned to look fully at her, seemingly more curious than anything else. I waited until he finished scrutinizing her before continuing. "In eight days she will be meeting with the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards to rescind her shunning."

The man nodded his comprehension, and I continued. "I would like you to accompany her, just to make sure there is no foul play. Also, in the event the Coven changes their minds, your job will to get her out of there safely. Can you do this?"

He nodded confidently. "I can do it. I know how they operate, and I know the area."

I flicked a glance at Rachel. "Considering the circumstances, you will be drawing hazard pay for this assignment." Rachel leaned back where the man couldn't see her face and stuck her tongue out at me. "Get whatever you need through Quen. If you need to bring anyone else on the job, that's fine; just clear it with Quen. Any questions?"

Randall shook his head. "Nothing I can think of. If I come up with something, I'll relay it through Quen."

"Wonderful. Thank you," I said, standing up again to shake his hand. He turned and shook Rachel's hand as well before leaving the room.

"So, ah, what changed your mind?" I asked Rachel, sitting down and leaning back in my chair.

"Well," she said and knotted her fingers together. "Ivy has been freaking out over this Coven thing. She's paranoid that the Coven is gonna screw me over. She's been trying to come up with some kind of plan to keep me safe, but she doesn't have anyone she knows over there. I found her practically pulling her hair out over it, so I asked her what the deal was.

"She told me what she was trying to do, and, well, she was really worried about me. So I told her about your offer. She wouldn't leave me alone then until I promised I'd accept it." She took a deep breath. "So, here I am."

I allowed a faint smile to play about my lips. "I see."

She shrugged self-consciously. "It's probably for the best, anyway."

"Yes," I agreed. "I'm glad to know you'll be in good hands."

She fell silent, and I didn't know what to do. I wanted very badly to touch her, but I couldn't read her. I didn't know how she would react. After a minute I stood and came around my desk. I offered her my hand and helped pull her to her feet. We stood there for a few seconds, looking into one another's eyes.

"Stop dithering and kiss me, you dumb elf!" she exclaimed, and I did. She sighed against my lips, and I stepped into her, sliding one hand around to bury in her hair and cradle the back of her had. My other arm moved to her back, drawing her body closer to mine. Her arms twined around my neck, and I rubbed my hand up and down her spine.

I deepened the kiss, flicking my tongue across her lips, and she parted them to let me in. I curled my tongue around hers, then caressed the roof of her mouth. I kept my motions slow and sensual, even though I wanted to devour her. It didn't help my control any when she pushed back, exploring my mouth with her own tongue. But I fought to keep the kiss almost teasingly slow until we finally broke apart, panting.

I brought my hand forward to cup her jaw, to trace her cheekbone with my thumb. "Rachel," I whispered, tasting the name, rolling it over my tongue. Her green eyes were warm as she studied my face like she was trying to memorize it.

"Trent," she murmured, trying my own name out with a soft intonation she'd never used before. A smile grew on her face, turned wicked. "Let's do that again."

I was more than amenable as she pulled my face down to hers again. Certain now of my welcome, I kissed her harder, greedily. She responded with passion, pressing her body against mine. The feel of her slender frame, her breasts, her hips fitting against my body was enough to drive me to distraction, and I growled and penetrated her mouth with my tongue. She moaned, and I reveled in the sound.

This time when we broke the kiss we didn't draw apart. Rachel dropped an arm to wrap around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder. I gently ran my fingers through her curls and inhaled deeply. She smelled like redwood, and I found the scent relaxing. I bent my head and brushed my lips against her cheek, then we both tensed when a knock came at the door.

We drew apart reluctantly and I quickly patted my hair to make sure it was lying flat before opening the door. Rachel sat down quickly, fussing discreetly with her own hair.

I found Quen standing outside the door. I stepped back and gestured for him to come in. "Quen. What is it?"

He remained in the doorway. "Has Miss Morgan left already? Ceri was hoping she'd come by to visit before leaving."

My eyes flicked to her and back to Quen. "She's still here." I raised an eyebrow at her, and she answered the question unvoiced.

"I'd love to," she said warmly, rising and coming to stand by me. Quen frowned slightly at her appearance and shot me a look, but apparently my condition reassured him, and he turned without a word to lead the way to Ceri.

When we entered her room, she was sitting up, cradling a sleeping Raymond in her lap. Rachel immediately went over to give her a hug.

"How are you doing?" she asked. I joined Quen, standing against the wall, and watched the two women.

"I'm doing well," Ceri replied, then made a face. "Actually, I'm going crazy from being cooped up in this bed. They won't let me get up except to use the bathroom. I've tried telling them that I'm fine, but they won't listen."

Quen stirred beside me. "It's only for another day or two, my love."

Ceri gave him a tender smile. "I pray my sanity lasts that long," she said, earning a laugh from Rachel.

"And how is little Raymond?" Rachel asked, bending down and smiling at the sleeping infant. "He looks healthy. And so cute too!"

Ceri looked down at him as well and brushed her fingertips gently over the crown of his head. "He's got a healthy appetite, that's for sure," she joked, then her tone grew serious. "Honestly, though, he's perfectly healthy." She met my eyes, a look of gratitude on her face. "Thanks to you and Trenton getting that sample, and to his genetic labs, he can grow up normally. He probably won't even need any more treatments."

Rachel reacted when Ceri mentioned my illegal genetics labs, and I wondered if she had mentioned them specifically to remind Rachel that illegal didn't necessarily mean bad. I certainly would not have put it past her; I had been impressed before at how manipulative she could be.

"So," Ceri went on, "what's going on in your life?"

"Well, I'm going in front of the Coven in eight days," she said. "That should be interesting, to say the least."

Ceri looked at her, concerned. "Will you be all right?" she asked.

Rachel waved her hand dismissively. "Trent has someone who's going to keep me alive," she said with more confidence, in my opinion at least, than she could possibly be feeling.

Ceri shot me a look, surprise mixed with respect, and I shrugged. "It's the least I can do to make up for the trouble I've given her," I said, wanting her to understand my motives. Well, more like the only motives I was willing to confess; in reality I mostly just wanted to keep Rachel safe.

She smiled. "That's very good of you, Trenton." Rachel, standing beside her, smiled warmly at me as well, and I felt my heart swell from happiness. This, I decided, was what doing the right thing was supposed to feel like.

"Anyway," Ceri turned back to Rachel, "thank you for stopping by. You should visit more often. I can't leave for a couple more days, and Quen has to work, so I'd be grateful of the company."

"I will," Rachel promised. "And I'll try and get Ivy to visit too, okay?"

"That sounds wonderful," Ceri replied. "Take care of yourself."

"I will," Rachel responded and hugged her again before turning and heading for the door. I went to follow her, but Ceri's voice stopped me.

"Trenton? Would you be so kind as to put Raymond in his cradle for me?"

I glanced in surprise first at her, then at Quen. I would have expected him to be the one for that job. Apparently he felt the same, because he was frowning slightly at Ceri. I turned to look at her again in time to see her make a shooing gesture at Quen. He left, and I stood for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on, before approaching Ceri.

She lifted Raymond up and placed him in my arms, and I deposited him in his bed with exaggerated care.

"Oh," she sighed to herself, "What was that phrase? Ah yes," she said louder, then met my curious gaze. "I would recommend that if you're planning to put the moves on Rachel, now would be the time."

My jaw dropped and I felt my face heat up. I wanted to deny my attraction, but decided after a moment's deliberation that there was no point.

"Actually," I said, fighting to keep my voice sounding normal, "that's what I was doing when Quen came to pass on your message."

A look of delight crossed her delicate features. "Oh, that's great!" she spouted, then frowned at me when I didn't move. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go after her," she commanded, and I jumped to obey.

As I opened the door, she called, "Quen? Are you out there?"

"Right here," he replied and slipped back in, leaving me alone with Rachel.

* * *

Sorry about the crappy ending place, I'll post more when I can. Unfortunately as my internet access is about to disappear, that may only be about every two months or so. I'll try and do more, but I can't promise anything. By the way, I wrote this some time before Pale Demon came out and as such tried to avoid the whole Coven thing as I knew I couldn't do it justice.


	11. It's Official

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 11: It's Official

* * *

I began walking back to the main building, and Rachel fell into step beside me. Once we stepped outside she turned to look at me.

"Well? What did Ceri want?" she asked, no longer able to contain her curiosity.

Remembering, I felt the rims of my ears turning red. "She, ah, suggested to me that now was the time to put the moves on you."

She burst into laughter at that. After a moment I began to smile despite myself. In retrospect it was a little funny.

Finally she recovered, wiping her eyes. "She really said that?" I nodded. She stepped close and liked her arm through mine. "You know, maybe I should stay for dinner, enjoy some more of Maggie's cooking."

I grinned. "Good idea. She did say so herself, after all." We walked together, arm in arm, back to the main building. I slowed my pace, wondering where we could go to be alone. We passed my back office, then I backtracked and pulled Rachel in, closing and locking the door. I went to my stereo and put on some soft music, then caught Rachel's hand in mine, pulling her after me. I felt like a teenager skipping out on class to make out with my girlfriend, heady excitement making my heart beat fast.

I sat down in my chair and tugged her hand, encouraging her to sit on my lap. She did, turning her side to me, putting her legs over the arm of the chair, and wrapping one arm around my shoulders. She was grinning, her eyes sparkling with the same excitement I felt.

I kissed her, a brief chaste kiss, then pulled back so I could see her face without going cross-eyed. "I honestly have no clue when I fell for you. I guess it was an accumulation of little things. But I want you to know I don't regret it. However things go with the Coven, I want you around, in my life."

She sighed and put her cheek on my shoulder, snuggling against me. "The first time we met, I remember thinking how handsome you were. It pissed me off, to tell the truth. I thought it was totally unfair for you to have it all: wealth, power and good looks." She ran her fingers through my hair and I sighed in pleasure.

"I remember that meeting too. I thought you were beautiful, in a wild, fiery way. I remember telling myself that you were attractive, sure, but not my type." I chuckled. "I think I even believed it."

She kissed me on the jaw, and I shivered. I had good self-control, but I wanted her. If she kept that up she was going to get a surprise despite my best efforts. She stopped kissing me and spoke again, leaving me caught between relief and disappointment.

"I've seen you working to improve yourself, becoming a better person. And it makes me feel really good that I had a part in that." She smiled, a faraway look in her eyes. "I want to see that trend continue. I want to be here to see it, I mean."

"I want that too," I murmured. "I want you as mine." I braced myself mentally, knowing she might not like what I had to say next. "But I need you to understand that I can't just throw away the brimstone and the biodrugs. I need them to fund my efforts to save my people. I know they upset you, but I swear to you they're safe. After a catastrophe like the Turn, you'd better believe I have many redundant measures in place to prevent anything like that from happening again.

"As for the brimstone, you remember meeting with Stanley on his boat. If I didn't make it, someone else would, and I regulate my product carefully. No one else does. If you would like to see the precautions I take in my ventures, if that would make you feel better about it, I'll show you." I held my breath, afraid of how she would react.

She had tensed slightly as I spoke, but after several nerve-wracking seconds she relaxed, raised her head, and kissed me on the cheek. "Ceri told me something once. She said that brimstone has been illegal for 32 of the past 5000 years, and that humans were trying to control Inderlanders by outlawing it. Back when she said that, I found it difficult to accept that the law might actually be wrong. But now, I've been shunned, kidnapped, imprisoned without a trial or even anyone knowing, and had Coven members trying to kill or mutilate me. They kidnapped Stanley too," she added as an afterthought.

"Anyway, the point is the law didn't protect me, didn't help me at all. If I didn't have friends in the FIB, I would have been royally screwed." She turned to stare into my eyes, suddenly angry. "You know that in Alcatraz, they put something in the food that decreases your ability to do magic? Like permanently, I mean."

I looked back at her, feeling suddenly cold. "No, I didn't know that," I said softly. "I didn't know it was possible."

She nodded solemnly, and behind her anger I could see fear, fear of what could have happened in that place. I was suddenly filled with shame for the part I had played in setting the Coven after Rachel. The worst part was even if I had known they were going to try to deaden her ability to work magic, it wouldn't have changed my mind then.

Her brows came together in a look of concern. "What's wrong?"

I closed my eyes. I didn't deserve the sympathy and caring in her eyes. "I put you in that place. I mean, they already knew about you, but obviously they didn't trust Nick and were looking for a second opinion. I really did throw you under the bus."

I opened my eyes when I felt her shift on my lap and found her leaning in to kiss me. I kissed her back, relief flooding me. I held onto her until we had to come apart for air.

"You didn't know," she said. "I mean, you didn't know exactly how bad it would be. And I still had that familiar mark on you. Don't get me wrong," she said with a wry smile, "that whole contract thing ticked me off. But I do understand why you did it."

"Thank you," I whispered, feeling like I might cry. For this, I truly didn't deserve her forgiveness.

She was silent for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "That's right," she said. "What I was saying about brimstone and the law. After being completely ignored by the law, I really came to understand that it isn't always right. It's wrong that it doesn't help shunned witches, and it might be wrong about brimstone."

She took a deep breath. "As for biodrugs...I don't know. I mean, I know they were outlawed because of the potential for an epidemic. But we all know the story. They were making bioweapons, not trying to cure diseases and save lives. Plus, there's my life, which I kinda like having," she smirked, "and Ceri's baby." She turned a questioning look on me. "How likely is it that Raymond would have survived without genetic intervention?"

I shook my head slightly, sadly. "My parents had three children. I'm the only one that survived infancy."

She winced. "I'm sorry to hear that."

I kissed her cheek. "It was a long time ago. Anyway, Raymond's chances might have been a little closer to one in two."

"That's still pretty bad," she said softly, and I nodded in agreement.

"It's actually one of my greatest frustrations," I confided. "If the government would legalize brimstone they could regulate and tax it. They would get money from it, and it would be a safer product everywhere in the world, not just in my area of operations. It's a foolish lose-lose situation for everyone. Well," I added with a grin, "everyone except me."

She rolled her eyes at me, but she was smiling. I continued on, "What's more, thousands of people die from diseases that were curable before the Turn, or that we've since found cures for. It's a crying shame, that the mostly human majority would sacrifice these people because of their fear. The Turn was thirty years ago. It's time to grow up and stop being afraid of the monster under the bed."

She looked up at me, surprised. "You're very passionate about this, aren't you? I figured it was just about the money."

"I was raised with an understanding of the benefits and risks of biodrugs. I think it gives me a more balanced perspective on the subject."

"Maybe. I was raised to be terrified of them. I pretty much freaked out when I found out that I was alive because of genetic intervention."

I chuckled. "I would've liked to see that."

"I'll just bet," she said saucily. There was a moment of silence, then she said, "You know, when Quen told me that your brimstone was carefully produced and regulated and it was Saladan's brimstone that was killing people, it was kind of a wake-up call for me. I realized that you weren't just some monster. Plus what Stanley said on his boat about letting the weak die off?" She shook her head angrily, her jaw clenched.

I kissed her and felt the tension bleed slowly out of her. I looked into her eyes, pleased that she looked happy again. "Can you do this?" I asked, my voice low, earnest. "Can you be with me, knowing the things I do?"

"Yes," she said. "I know why you do those things. Plus you said you'd show me your safety precautions. I'm going to hold you to that."

I smiled. "Thank you. Gods, I'm glad to hear that. You know my duty to my people has to come first, but losing you because of it would have torn me apart."

"Are you sure you can handle me?" she said with a twinkle in her eye. "I've got a terrible track record with men, you know. Either they turn out to be scum or they die." Her tone was lighthearted, but sadness crossed her face at that last word. I was surprised to see how much Kisten's death had affected her.

I shrugged. "I'll be careful. I think you're worth the risk," I said, and kissed her. She turned her torso more toward me and the kiss deepened, our tongues dueling. After a minute she broke the kiss and stood up before kneeling in the chair, straddling my lap. She kissed me again, harder and more passionate, and I groaned, my body stirring at the feeling of her hips next to mine.

I wrapped one arm around the small of her back to hold her up and buried my other hand in her glorious red hair. Her position put her face higher than mine, and she took advantage of that fact to take control of the kiss, sliding back slowly, catching my lower lip carefully between her teeth and eliciting a groan of desire from me.

She kissed her way along my jaw and up behind my ear, and the world narrowed down to her body and mine, her touch on my skin and the harsh gasping of my breath. I was dimly aware that my fingertips were digging into her butt. She ran her hands down my chest, fingers outlining the contours of muscle there. She nipped my earlobe and my self-control snapped. My hips bucked upward and she gasped at the sensation of my erection pressing against her groin, throwing her head back as her eyes slid closed.

"Trent," she moaned, her voice husky. I slid my hands slowly up her body, starting at her hips and moving up her stomach, exploring the hard muscle there. She really was in excellent physical shape, no unnecessary fat on her. I moved higher and cupped her small breasts in my hands. They were perfectly round and firm, with none of the sagging that larger breasts were prone to suffering. Her nipples were peaked, barely visible through her clothing, and I shifted my right hand to catch one and roll it between my fingertips.

Her hands went to m collar, undoing the first button there, and I was suddenly glad I hadn't worn a tie today, opting to dress more casually. She kissed me full on the lips as she worked on the next button down, and I devoured her, demanding. She popped a third and fourth button loose, her fingers sure, then slipped her hand inside my shirt, running it along the top of my shoulder.

She pulled back to look me in the eyes, and my breath caught at the heat, the lust in her eyes. "God, Trent, I'm hungry."

An unpleasant thought occurred to me about how Tamwood would react to smelling me all over her. I pulled away slightly. "Me too. Dinner should be about ready by now. Let's go eat." I kept my demeanor playful, teasing.

Irritation followed shock across her features. "That's not what I meant, you big fairy fart."

I widened my eyes. "You want me to starve to death, is that it? Come on, you said you were hungry."

She threw up her hands in exasperation and got up, freeing me to stand. "Elven appetites. I just can't compete. Fine, let's go eat dinner."

I smiled at her, turning off the music as I left the room. After a long moment of silence, she asked, "So, um, why did you cut that off? For real, I mean."

I gave her a sideways look. "You live with a vampire, Rachel. They don't like surprises."

Comprehension lit her face. "Oh yeah. That's right." She grinned, embarrassed.

I nodded, giving her a pointed look. "It would be a bit awkward if she tried to kill me to defend your honor before you had a chance to explain the situation."

"Very true," she said soberly, then sighed. "You're still a party pooper, though," she said with a mischievous grin.

I pretended to ignore her, and we entered the dining room. I pulled a chair out for her and seated myself beside her. I knew it made us look like teenagers on a date, but there was no one else here to see and I didn't care.

Maggie smiled at Rachel as she brought out dinner in the form of mashed potatoes and gravy and a roast cooked with assorted vegetables. I was a bit surprised when Quen joined us for dinner but not, I think, as surprised as he was. He paused in the doorway and blinked a few times before regaining his bearing and seating himself at the table.

We all loaded our plates in silence and began to eat. After a few minutes Quen spoke. "I didn't expect you to still be here, Miss Morgan. Might I ask what kept you around? Not a problem of some sort, I hope?"

I could feel myself turning red as Rachel answered smoothly. "No, no problem. Trent and I were just smooching in the back office."

Quen choked on his water at that, and I felt my blush creeping down my neck. She really had no sense of propriety. But I still noticed how beautiful she was, smiling almost innocently as poor Quen coughed.

When he recovered, he gave me a look. "Really?" he asked, disbelieving, and I nodded.

"We also spent some time discussing my, ah, extra-curricular activities and generally feeling things out."

His eyebrows went up at that. "And?"

I looked at Rachel at the same time that she turned to me. In her eyes I saw confirmation of what I felt. "We're going to give it a try," I said, my eyes never leaving hers.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Quen said softly, and I looked up to find him shaking his head in amazement. "I'm very happy for both of you. Be good to each other."

Rachel's smile took on a wicked edge at that, but she quickly went back to eating to hide it. Quen and I did the same. The rest of the meal passed in alternating silence and casual conversation. Quen excused himself as soon as he finished eating, giving Rachel and myself some privacy.

Predictably, Rachel finished before me, and I thought to myself that not eating very much must be how she stayed so thin. She watched me until I finished my food. Afterward I stood up and caught her in my arms when she rose as well. I kissed her soundly, keeping it slow and enjoying how comfortable, how right it felt to have her in my arms.

We broke apart, and she murmured, "I need to go home." Disappointment rolled through me, though I knew she couldn't stay forever. "If you'd like I'll come visit again tomorrow."

I kissed her forehead. "I'd like that very much." I walked her slowly to the garage, where she led me to an old Buick, the same I'd seen her driving before. I lifted an eyebrow at her. "What happened to your convertible?"

She scowled. "Fucking Coven summoned me while I was driving it. It's totaled."

I felt a pang of sympathy. I knew she'd been very fond of it, and it had to rankle losing it over something so stupid. "I hope nobody was injured."

"Fortunately, no. But Ivy and Jenks were in the car with me. I can't tell you how furious I was at the Coven for that, just because I didn't know if they were okay."

"You should make a list of things like that that the Coven did, things injurious to you and others. Reading that off in front of them might make them a bit more contrite."

She brightened at the idea. "Yeah! Like breaking Ivy's arm," she scowled, "and almost killing her. And the people on the bus, and when they kidnapped Saladan and practically mugged him. I can't believe he's happily married now," she said, her demeanor turning thoughtful.

I smiled at her, though I was a bit taken aback at all the things the Coven had done. "Make that list and keep a copy somewhere safe. It certainly can't hurt and it could be a great help." I put my hands in my pockets. "So, ah, where did you get this car?"

She made a face. "It's my mom's car. She's staying with Donald—Takata, I mean—on the west coast and taking classes." She smiled then, proud. "She's going to be licensed in no time at all."

I frowned slightly. "I'm not sure what that means."

"It means she'll be able to sell the charms she makes. Legally, I mean; apparently she's been doing it for a while and I didn't even know it."

"Ah, I see," I murmured. I hid a smile; it seemed she didn't get her straight-laced attitude toward the law from either of her parents.

She scuffed a toe on the pavement. "Well, I guess I should go," she said, her reluctance plain on her face.

I drew her into my arms, kissing her briefly. "Drive safely. I'll see you tomorrow."

She smiled at me, and my heart melted. "I will. See you tomorrow." She got into the car and started it up, driving off slowly. I waved before she exited the garage and then went back inside. Perhaps I would get her another red convertible when her birthday came around. She'd love that, I thought with a smile.

* * *

Yay, they're finally together!


	12. It's About Time, Too

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 12: It's About Time, Too

* * *

I was in a foul mood the next afternoon when Rachel visited me. I had been thinking about our future together and had come to the depressing conclusion that our relationship couldn't last. I had to produce an heir sometime and that was something Rachel couldn't give me. And somehow I couldn't see her letting me sleep with someone on the side.

I met her in my garden, in the hope that being surrounded by nature would improve my mood, but she picked up on it immediately. She sat in the wicker loveseat next to me and draped an arm over my shoulders.

"What's wrong, Trent? Talk to me."

I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "I was thinking about the future."

"And?" she prompted.

"And we don't have one," I said bitterly. "I have to marry an elven woman so we can have an heir. I'm not royalty in the sense of the Middle Ages, but I am the ruling line, the current caretaker of our species. I have to pass that job on." I leaned forward, putting my elbows on my knees and cupping my chin in my hands. Rachel rubbed her hand up and down my back slowly, soothingly. "My duties leave me no chance to be myself," I said unhappily.

Rachel leaned closer. "I don't care, Trent. I don't care if this isn't forever. I have you now and I'll hold onto you as long as I can. Plus," she added, her demeanor turning lighthearted, "So far I've never had a relationship last forever."

I smiled ruefully. "Well, obviously you haven't, and neither have I." I turned toward her and kissed her, a silent thank you for cheering me up. She pulled me close, deepening the kiss, and I began to remember where we had left off the day before.

"Did you talk to Tamwood?" I asked.

She nodded. "She knew something was up as soon as I came home. She's still suspicious of your motives, but even she sees you're a better man than Nick or Marshall or Pierce."

I felt a spike of jealousy as she mentioned her past lovers. I kissed her hard, possessively, as though I could mark her as mine. Her reaction was delightful; she moaned softly and pressed against me. I put an arm around her hips and repositioned her so she was almost lying down across the loveseat with me atop her.

I kissed her again, my tongue exploring her mouth, and she arched her back and pressed her breasts up against my chest. I growled and ground my hips against her, drawing a gasp from her. She pulled away to catch her breath, and she was beautiful with her hair in disarray and her face flushed. She grabbed the front of my shirt and said, "Bedroom. Now," in a voice that would not take no for an answer.

I grinned and stood, pulling her up as I did so and keeping her hand in mine as I led her back into the house. I hesitated for barely a second before taking her to my bedroom. Very few women had been in there, but I knew that Rachel was someone I wanted to share myself with. Unlike other women I'd had before, I knew she didn't give a rat's ass about my money or my influence. She wanted me, and I wanted to let her into my heart, my life, fully.

I hid a smile at her reaction as I closed my bedroom door behind us. "What?"

She turned to look at me, her eyes large. "It's very...green."

I gave her a mock glare. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

She shook her head hastily, her face coloring. "No, it's not bad. It just caught me by surprise, is all."

She turned again to look around the spacious room. The central room had doors that led to my dressing room and my personal bath, but the only one I was interested in was the one leading to my bedroom. I caught her hand and pulled her through this door, closing and locking it behind me.

I kissed her again, briefly but thoroughly, before attacking the buttons on my shirt like it was a race to see who could undress first. Rachel, by virtue of wearing fewer layers with fewer buttons, beat me, and my rapid movements slowed down as I got distracted by the sight of her nude body. I tore my gaze from her long enough to kick off my trousers and boxers, then resumed my staring.

She was slim, with nice curves in her hips, muscular legs and arms, and her skin was that creamy pale shade particular to redheads. I suddenly recalled the time she'd appeared during my mayoral campaign speech. She'd been naked then, too, and a bit hairy due to the spell she'd used to get close to me. I couldn't help but appreciate the sight of her then, even despite the hair and our ongoing rivalry.

Now she was shaven, and her skin seemed to glow in the dim light of my bedroom. I decided I could just stare at her all day, though it occurred to me that touching her might be even more fun.

"Damn, Trent," she said, admiration in her voice.

I gave her a teasing look and motioned to my body with a sweep of my hand. "Like what you see?"

She looked at me, lust in her eyes. "You know damn well how good you look. There are probably about a thousand women in this city alone who would sell their own mothers to be with you."

I began stalking slowly toward her, and she swallowed hard. "And despite that," I said, my voice low, "I'm all yours. No one else's." I stopped before her and put my hands on her hips. "What do you think of that?"

She looked up slightly at me, our heights almost equal. There was something akin to wonder in her eyes. "I like that," she whispered. "A lot."

I pulled her against me and kissed her, almost overwhelmed by the sensation of all that skin against my body. Her hands roved up and down my body, exploring and caressing, and finally I couldn't take it any more. I broke the kiss, swept her up in my arms, and carried her to my bed.

...

I pulled her close to my chest and rested my arm over her waist. I could feel her heart beating hard and fast, even through her back. We lay there together in a comfortable silence, feeling our hearts gradually slow their rapid pace. After a moment I shifted, taking my hand back to pull a few strands of her hair out of my mouth. She took the opportunity to roll onto her back and look up at me, a teasing light in her green eyes.

"So, Trent. I can't help but notice that you're human-sized rather than witch-sized."

I shook my head. "Nope, you've got it wrong. Humans," I said firmly, "are elf-sized."

She burst into a fit of giggles at that, smacking me lightly on my shoulder. I chuckled and gathered her up in my arms, inhaling deeply of her natural scent.

"Come on," I said, "if you liked that bathtub you used after our dunk in the Ohio River, you'll love mine."

She grinned. "Show me the way."

I rolled off the bed, and Rachel crawled to the edge after me. She followed me into the central room, then I showed her into the bathroom. She looked around in evident approval as I began drawing water for the bath. She began opening the cabinets and poking her head in, checking everything out. I rolled my eyes, then took it as an opportunity to enjoy the view from behind.

A few minutes later, her curiosity apparently satisfied, she came over to stand beside me. I gestured at the water filling the large sunken tub. "Is this a good temperature for you?" I asked.

She stuck her hand into the flow gingerly before nodding. "Yep, that's great." She straightened up and put an arm around my waist. "There's only one downside to a huge tub like this. It takes a while to fill it up."

I shrugged. "It's worth it. Learn some patience," I said, and poked her gently in the side.

"I'm not questioning that," she retorted. "You're gonna have quite a time getting me out of it, you know."

I smirked. "I look forward to the challenge," I said, taunting. The tub was about halfway full, and I decided that was good enough to get in. I stepped down onto the seat that ran the length of one side, then lowered myself to sit. Rachel joined me, sighing in pleasure as the water enveloped her to the waist.

"I've changed my mind," she said, and I looked at her questioningly. "I'm not giving you up ever. Not for anything." I smiled, amused by her mock-imperious attitude and secretly thrilled by her words. "No, I'm afraid you'll have to get your elven heirs through...whatever method Ceri was talking about, the other day."

"Test tube babies?" I said, borrowing the sling I'd overheard being used in my lab. She wrinkled her nose up, and I kissed it. "It's a possibility. I'd still feel a paternal duty toward them, you know."

"Of course," she said simply. "I'd think less of you if you didn't."

I smiled at that, then my smile sly as an idea occurred to me. "You know, I'd still need a woman to act as a surrogate mother; that is, to carry the child and give birth."

Her eyes widened and her mouth made a little "o" as she realized what I was suggesting. "You mean, we could have kids together? In a way, at least?" She gazed at me, starry-eyed. "We can make this work. We'll find a way." Then her smile dimmed. "But I still have to spend every Saturday in the Ever-After. I'm afraid of what that might do to a baby."

I shook my head and turned off the spigot, stopping the flow of water. "Don't concern yourself about that. We'll worry about that if and when we decide to have kids." I shook my head in rueful amusement. "Most people would consider this a little early in the relationship to be talking about children."

She chuckled at that. "Yeah, but I'm special. Hmm, maybe I can get maternity leave from Al if I do get pregnant. I bet he'd be pretty accommodating if he thought I was going to have a demon baby." She grinned suddenly, fiercely. "It would cheese him off to no end if I had an elven child."

I had to smile at that. Wouldn't that be a hell of a surprise for that accursed demon.

"You know," she mused, "if we did do that people would assume that you were a witch."

"Hah," I snorted. "Let them, I won't confirm or deny it. They can draw their own conclusions however they like." I decided abruptly that we'd done enough talking for now and put my arms around Rachel, pulling her close and kissing her. She sighed and melted against me, warming me in a way that had nothing to do with the temperature of the bathwater.

The kiss grew more insistent as we twined our limbs together. We broke apart and I shifted to begin kissing the column of her throat. I paused at her collarbone, then groaned deeply when her hand encircled my erection.

"Already?" she murmured teasingly, and I pulled away, almost out of her grasp.

"If you don't want to, then we won't," I said, mock-serious. Her fingers tightened down, as if to prevent me from escaping, and I fought back another groan.

"Believe me, I do want to," she said with a wicked grin which I returned. Needing no further invitation, I gently pushed her hand aside, out of my way, and spread her thighs.

...

"Run some more hot water, will you?" Rachel mumbled into my chest. "It's getting cold."

"And you're turning into a prune," I replied as I did what she requested.

"Don't care," she retorted. "I like your tub."

I smiled. "I thought you might." I held her close in silence, my hand stroking idly up and down her side. She sighed softly, as though she'd thought of something that made her unhappy. "What are you thinking?" I asked her.

I was a bit taken aback at the serious tone of her response. "I think," she said slowly, "you were right about our fathers wanting to make peace between the elves and the demons."

"So?" I said, confused. "Why do you care all of a sudden?"

"Because I want to be with you. And it will be much less difficult if the war were ended permanently. I'm caught between the two of you right now, and I don't like it. I'm willing to work with both species to make peace. But I don't know how to do it." She looked at me, entreating.

"I'll think about it, see what I can come up with," I promised her. "I'm not optimistic, but I'll try."

"Thank you," she said softly. "I want to feel like I have a purpose, a reason for my life."

"Saving the elves isn't enough?" I said dryly.

"Yeah, but I already did that. I need something in the future to look forward to and work towards."

I put my arms around her, cradling her to my chest, then stood up abruptly. She shrieked and clung to my neck as I carried her out of the bath and set her on her feet by the towel rack. I pulled out a towel and thrust it at her.

"Here," I said, and she took it after glowering at me for a second. I grabbed another for myself and began drying off. "I don't know why you thought it would be hard for me to get you out of the tub," I said, smirking at her.

She made a face at me. "That's because you cheated," she said snidely.

I laughed and kissed her.

* * *

Science!


End file.
